Hades' Daughter
by mavrosal
Summary: I've always wanted to see how things would play out if Eric met his match. Of course, when you bring in a girl like Lexie she comes with her own brand of trouble. This is not a damsel in distress story...far from it. Eric/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! First of all I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed and added me on my other story. I am really very grateful and I am already working on the next chapter. Don't worry I haven't decided to leave it. I will be updating just as soon as I have written it :)**

**Now this one is a different story. I've been nursing this baby a while. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. While I have a bit of if written up already, I do need to go back and edit it...heavily.**

**All SVM characters belong to the wonderful CH, the rest are all mine :)  
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"Thanks for coming in Lexie!" said Sam. He's my boss. I work in a bar in Bon Temps. Yep, I am a waitress. Not the most exciting job in the world but for a rookie like me, it is the best place to learn to interact with humans. Goddess in training, that is me! Oh did I mention my name is Alessandra Hellion, Lexie to my friends.

Giving Sam a warm smile while tying my apron on I responded.

"No problem Sam, I wasn't doing much today anyway."

Looking around Merlottes I saw the usual dinner crowd, putting on my dumb blonde smile I hussled. I worked part-time. It was mostly for human interaction, as I certainly did not need money. Money was not a problem for me, my family was wealthy. Half way through my shift, I was waiting on a chicken basket for one of my orders when I felt a tingle at the back of my neck. I opened up my mind shields enough to scan and felt a blank mind. I have met my fair share of vamps, Weres, fairies, and most other magical creatures as part of growing up in my father's court. Dad is the god of the underworld, Hades. I am the offspring of a Greek deity and a fairy princess. Yeah, my step-mum was not happy to see me, but hey what can she do, it's not fair to ask dad to keep to himself for nine months every year. Persephone was vindictive and completely self-absorbed, she had no qualms about taking out her frustrations with my dad on his only child.

Looking back on that night, I should have realised his appearance in the Bar was an omen for me, things were about to change. I did not pay attention to it though; my second sight teacher was always aggravated with me for being so blind. My excuse; I will have to deal with the future eventually. No need to worry about things to come if they will happen anyway. I have been avoiding many things for almost six years now. I should have realised that they would catch up with me when I least expect it.

The vamp walked in and paused taking everything in. Abandoning the wait for my current order, I slid in next to Sam behind the bar.

"Do you still have any of that blood we ordered a while back?"

He looked up from pouring a beer.

"Sure Lexie, why?"

I bobbed my head in the general direction of the door; he looked, sniffed and went back to pouring the beer as he replied.

"Should be at the back of the fridge somewhere, double check the dates though, it's been there a while."

"Thanks."

While I checked the types of blood we had and finished up with the food order the vampire sat in my section. I quickly scanned the minds of other customers and realised that they had no way of knowing he was a vamp. Weird to me it was obvious that he was undead, even without my mental check. Vampires looked different to my heightened senses; they smelled dry and earthy, and slightly glowed.

Walking up to his table, I put my best waitress smile on.

"Hi there, what can I get you?"

The vampire looked at me with a slightly disgruntled look.

"Good Evening. Do you have any True Blood?"

"Sure do, we have AB and O negative." I checked.

"O negative. Please." His southern twang was obvious; ok not too old then and a possible local, interesting. Not surprising I have never seen him before; Bon Temps is not exactly a high traffic area. Small southern town in northern Louisiana, I could have settled anywhere, but while on my grand tour of the human world, I fell in love with this state. New Orleans was too high traffic for me. Way to many vamps, daemons and other troublemakers that I did not want to deal with. It was bad enough that dad kept sending trouble my way. His excuse, so I would not get soft. Urgh! I heated up the blood, gently shook it out and brought it back.

"Here you are, enjoy your evening." I said smiling.

He thanked me without even looking my way. Typical. Undead, ungrateful and thinking they are the superior of everyone vampire.

I got back to the bar, giving Sam an eye-roll, he smirked. Sam and I got along really well, he's a shifter. One of those rare, take any form kind. Super cool if you ask me. I kind of bulldozed him at first when I brought that up. He keeps a very low profile in the shifter community, wants to blend in and all. He knows about me too, he asked, and I figured it would make him feel better since I outed his furry secret. I kept trying to get him to talk to his fiancé about it, she should know whom she's dating, but he's being a stubborn mule about it.

Things were quiet, nobody realized they had a vamp in the bar, humans in the town haven't met many as yet, so they probably would get nervous at first. I noticed the vamp speaking to the Rattrays. They looked shifty, and boy did I know shifty. I helped dad with his job, training for the future, he put me on hell gates at some point, to better learn about the more nefarious side of human nature and not so human. Yep, that's my dad, big warm fuzz ball! Did I mention his idea of keeping me in shape? Sending his underlings to kill (not that I can be killed really, just temporary comatosed) me as their punishment. Well, they do usually either die or get maimed but that is so not the point.

I opened up my shields again, to read their thoughts, ohh these two were so going to the deep end and soon. Drainers didn't survive very long, call it professional hazards, vampires did not appreciate their life blood being taken unwillingly, an ongoing problem since coming out of the coffin. V was the new drug of choice. Knowing their plans for this particular vamp, even with his attitude, did not make me happy. I walked over there to see if anyone wanted to have more drinks, they didn't. While turning away I whispered knowing the vampire will hear what the humans at the table would not.

"They are planning on draining you. Don't go outside, it's an ambush. Oh and try not to make a mess."

He looked up gave me a slight nod in passing, but I noticed the hardened expression. Oh well, whom ever was on hell duty will be signing these two in real soon. I wasn't bothered by death, mostly because of where I was raised, since I saw death almost everyday of my life it was normal for me, and after the stint on hell gate duty, I definitely encouraged it in some cases. Blood thirsty, who me, nah?

Finishing up my shift at closing time, I was happy to get out of Merlotte's.

"See you in a couple of days Sam." I waved good-bye and was out of there.

My dreams of a quick drive home in my baby, 1970 black mustang, were dashed as soon as I saw who was leaning against it. As he stood there, I took him in for the first time, he was very good looking, I'll give him that. Tall, with dark hair and those lovely old-fashioned side burns, if he did not have such an attitude, I would have found him intriguing, maybe. I resigned myself to a quick, how do I talk myself out of trouble conversation, while thinking up of ways to explain my knowing about the Ratrays ambush. Stopping in front of him, I nodded in greeting.

"Yes?" I never said I would be polite.

My not so grovelling and less than fearful attitude took him aback.

"How did you know?"

Feeling that playing dumb would probably not work I figured on a part truth.

"I overheard them when they were in the bar before about V. When I saw you talking to them, I wasn't sure but I'd figured they weren't after friendship and cuddles."

"Ahhh, so you have not had dealings with them, you have never taken V?"

Insulted was the first emotion that I identified, pissed off was a close second.

"You know that a thank you is usually called for when someone just saved you arse!"

His lips thinned into a line, I got the feeling he was not so good at apologies.

"Thank you for the warning. It was appreciated." He forced out, dragging the words out of himself with great reluctance.

I smiled, glad he bought my explanation. I really was enjoying bringing him down a peg or two.

"You are welcome, now I realise you are up at night but I've been working a double and really do need my rest." He took the hint moving away from the car, as I passed he inhaled, I heard more than saw his fangs pop. So much for going under the radar. My combination of divine and fairy was very much appreciated by vamps, great just fucking great.

"What are you?"

Lie Lex, lie.

"Oh! How silly of me, my name is Alessandra Hellion, Lexie to my friends, nice to meet you." Letting it hang I hoped like hell he would get distracted while I concentrated on tamping down my scent. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Bill Compton at your service Miss Hellion." Bill said, while his fangs retracted, his face still suspicious. I figured it was a good time to get out of there, before my luck ran out.

"Pleasure meeting you Bill, have a good night." I said while getting into the car. Quickly starting the engine and getting the heck out of there.

Damn, that was close.

I woke up the next morning to a bright sunny day. No work today, no daemons or other trouble on the horizon. I was looking forward to a cloud free day. I had warning wards around the property I lived on, not to mention the barriers, which were pretty much impenetrable. I was a good warder, one of the best. Coffee in hand I made my way to the veranda where I could appreciate lovely sunshine.

I loved my house. Set on twenty acres of land, I bought the land and build the house myself, well, I designed it myself. It was gorgeous. Lovely sandstone brick on the outside with large windows and a black roof. I know not very practical of me, and extremely expensive, it was worth it though. The windows were from floor to ceiling and very wide, it almost felt like I was living in the forest that surrounded me. I had three bedrooms counting my own, a study filled with books and the living area with an open plan kitchen and dining. Inside was done in shades of browns and greens, it was simple, elegant and very relaxing. Some people would call it masculine, but what the hell do they know, right? I had my gym as well, practising in the living room would have been a strategical nightmare with all the furniture, not to mention expensive and I did not like practising in the rain, often. My practise room took up almost the same area as the house; they connected through a small corridor leading off the living room. It had large windows on all side and a very high roof. I had all of my swords and an assortment of other weapons on display around the walls. I did have a few weapons around the house too; I was nothing if not cautious. Having grown up in Hell, with Hades as a father, yes, I had my share of enemies. I also had a lot of power backing me up from both sides of the family, but a girl just had to learn how to protect herself. I loved to kick ass!

I heard the phone ring in the living room, sighed and got up.

"Lexie?" Sam's voice drifted out of the reciever as I picked up the phone.

"Hey Sam! Everything ok?" He sounded worried.

"I was just about to ask you that.I saw you talking to the vampire on your way out and got worried."

Like there was a chance in Hell a lone vamp could possibly take me down.

"He just wanted to say thank you for my heads up on the Ratrays. They were planning on draining him outside."

"Are you serious?" he voice coming out a little cracked.

"Yeah, I picked it up from them. But I have a feeling everything turned out ok, well for the vamp, not so sure about them though."

"Yeah. I doubt they would have been let off lightly. Glad you are ok Cher. Oh. Thanks for covering the shifts yesterday. I appreciate it."

"You are welcome. I enjoy helping you out, Sam." I did, I like to socialise sometimes. Helped with the human interaction and all that, plus I really did like Sam, he was one of the few friends I had around here. We said our goodbyes and I confirmed that I'll work the weekend lunch shifts.

After finishing my coffee, I headed to the gym for my daily practise. I was very good in several human combat styles, daemon and fairy fighting as well as weaponry. I loved swords, had a few favourites too. Nothing beat Lilliane though. Magically enhanced to kill anything she sliced through, she was always with me. A tattoo gift, very rare and precious. I also had Zionos, my big furry bodyguard, who has been with me since my birth.

Zionos currently stretched out on the veranda lazing in the sun, his lovely black fur gleaming. Black and big, he was my favourite jaguar to hang out with. I loved him to bits, for his fierce loyalty and cuddly personality (when it came to me that is), my enemies saw the darker side of my companion. He was an ava'h, my protector, tattooed at birth by my uncle, Aries.

"How was your run, Zi?" I said while getting a pair of sais off the wall.

The usual exciting grumbled at me. You know I would love to chase something larger than those rabbits.

"Zi, we talked about that, besides, you have Sam to play with now during the full moon." Sam and Zi met, when Sam ran onto my property a while back during his full moon run. They hit it off straight away, well, after Sam turned himself from a collie to a copy of Zionos.

_Full moon is not till next week._ He is such a grouch in the mornings, which was exactly why I ignored him and practised.

After practise, I hit the shower and then decided to sunbathe.

Zi and I chatted about the last daemon dad sent our way. He must have just got out of training, it always amazed me how cocky the newbies were. Didn't they just learned to use their brain? We didn't really hurt him that bad, since I felt sorry for the idiot. He must have pissed someone off really bad to be sent out to me, most of the time they did internal punishment. I thoughts turned dark when I remembered Underworld, the memories forever tainted by the events that led me here.

_You probably should't have helped that vampire last night_. That remark brought me out of my depressing memories.

"I didn't have much choice, Zi. They were planning on draining him in the car park, I couldn't have that." I may not be the best person to turn to for Christian thoughts, as the humans say, but I was brought up with a respect for the life of others as well as death. Having spent that time working on Hell's guard duty, learning all the crimes people (and I mean that in a very multicultural/supernatural type of way) did to each other, cured me of any lingering thoughts of kindness. Some just did not deserve it at all.

_I am not the one who ran out on Hades because and may I quote this, I am not interested in becoming your delegate and lackey girl. You said you hated politics and we both know that is were any association with vampires will lead._

I glared, but did not have any real come back to that. It was all true, I did say that to dad. Zionos though knew the real reason behind my escape and why I left court behind. I was also thinking that as much as I hated politics, I was starting to miss the excitement of it. Our politics were a lot more bloody then the human kind. Intruige, death and blood was the corner stone. I really did enjoy it until… NO! I will not think about it.

Turning my thoughts back to today I realised I needed to get a move on. It was Wednesday, so I knew Kassie, my best friend and half daemon, would be dropping by. We planned a night out.

I was just finishing up getting ready when she waltzed in.

"Damn girl, you look good!" She said by way of greeting.

"Thanks darling!" I smiled at her back through the mirror. I did look rather scrumptious. My tanning session gave me a natural warm glow. My jet-black hair was done up in an intricate up do, and made my eyes stand out. They are emerald green, sparkling jewels as Dad would say to me when I was little. I wore a gorgeous green dress that made them pop. It was showing off just enough of my assets to make it a sexy stylish number. I had my girls on display and my lovely curves were right there too. The dress finished mid thigh and my golden legs never looked so good.

I gave Kasie's outfit a thorough look over as I finished my hair. "You look all fired up too." Returning the compliment, she was a redhead, part of her daemon heritage. She wore a lovely deep purple top with black shorts and sexy purple pumps. She looked amazing and she knew it.

She grinned and went to scratch Zi's head. He promptly started to purr for her. I rolled my eyes at the traitor but smiled anyway.

"Where are we going? Have you found any hot places in the area?"

We agreed to check out the local seen this time round. Kassie, lived in NY and both of us could teleportl, we did have the whole world at our feet…literally.

"I haven't but we can head off to Shreveport, I heard there are some decent clubs there." I replied sheepishly. Damn, forgot about that.

"Well, lucky for you I have. I know exactly where we are going tonight." He eyes sparkled.

"Oh." I admit I was curious. I looked her way, waiting for more details.

"Nope. Not telling. Your punishment for being such a lazy cow and not doing your research."

Pouting for a while, I put on some lip gloss which was the only thing apart from mascara that I bothered to wear. I head really good skin and didn't need any. Grabbed my clutch and came up to Kassie and Zi, who was still purring away.

"Come on Zi. I am ready to go."

He cast me a disparaging look clearly not happy with the interruption but shimmered and I felt him under my skin. A familiar weight settled at the bottom of my spine, his favourite sleeping spot.

We locked up and hit the road towards Shreveport. I lived close to the halfway point between Bon Temps and Shreveport. Not wanting many neighbours with all the fun and supernatural activity that usually surrounded me, so it didn't take us very long to get there, both of us detested human speed limits. Kassie directed me and we were soon parking in front of the club of choice. It was at the quiet end of the strop mall, right next to toys-r-us.

"Fangtasia?" I said doubtfully.

She shot me a big grin while sliding out.

**Let me know what you think about Lexie. **


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, so while I promised myself that I wouldn't post this until tomorrow I couldn't resist. I can't promise I'll be this nice all the time so enjoy it while you can.  
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**Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far. **

**CH owns the SVM characters. Lexie is mine :)**

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"It's a vamp bar Kassie." I groaned, they loved my scent, so I'll have to mask it all night.

"It's also the only decent place around here. Come on, you've been avoiding vamps long enough. I know you're starting to miss the excitement. All that violence is part of your blood."

I shot her a death stare. "I am not and it is not."

She just laughed. "You can't deny your blood forever, baby girl. I know you too well. You'll get sick of hiding out. For now though, count this as punishment for forgetting research."

We got out of the car and started towards the entrance. It was already busy, there was a line of the usual charming or better put not so charming fangbangers, tourists and Goths. Vampire bars are nothing if not predictable in that respect, at least the mainstreaming ones were. The underground places on the other hand were much more diverse and interesting. I was silently cursing myself for forgetting to find a more low-key place to go tonight, from the satisfied look on Kassie's face she was doing the exact opposite. Kassie was of the opinion that I have punished myself enough and should start living a little, this was her definition of living. We walked past the line up to the lovely blond vampire at the entrance. We never waited in line having learnt long ago that attitude would get you through just about any red tape and if that failed, we always had other, more persuasive talents. She very obviously scanned both of us and grinned with a little bit of fang. Yep, she liked what she saw.

"Good evening ladies. Welcome to Fangtasia." She purred, with a sparkle in her blue eyes. "ID's?"

I rolled my eyes, but produced mine anyway. Kassie did the same, while flirting shamelessly. According to my driver's license I was 25, born in New York and a donor. The irony of my actual age being exactly a century more made me smile at the vampire even brighter.

Kassie winked at her as we walked past and said her thanks. We walked in and looked around. Typical vampire bar, well better than usual, they really were trying to mainstream here. The walls were red and grey and covered in clichéd Hollywood images of famous vamps. The lighting was dim and mysterious and the music was loud. The humans enjoyed the dark and dangerous image, without the risk to their health, much. They even had a gift shop to satisfy the tourists.

"Drinks?" we said at each other and burst out laughing.

The bartender was another vampire. He smiled at us with a bit of fang while serving and was generally quite polite for a vamp. He was obviously of Native American descent and would have been relatively young by vampire standards.

Drinks in hand we found an empty booth in the corner from where we could see the whole bar. Enjoying the music, which was surprisingly good, we sat taking in the atmosphere.

"So what do you think?" Kassie asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I am currently devising my payback for this, a vampire bar? Kassie, that's low even for you." I glared at her half-heartedly but seeing the hurt look on her face, back peddled. "Kass, you did good. I'm sorry I forgot. The bouncer was checking you out before, she's cute."

She gave me a smile. Ah. Nice save Lex.

"Shall we dance then?"

I shook my head.

"Not yet, but I see the blondie is coming this way for you." I told her as I watched the vampire from the door coming up to our table. Kassie batted for the other team so to speak, not me, I am not inclined that way, but hey, whatever makes you happy, right?

"My name is Pam." The vampire said as she came up to us, true enough she turned to Kassie, "Dance?"

They went off to the dance floor, Kassie throwing me a quick grin over her shoulder. I was left alone with my drink and thoughts. The night was certainly not turning out as good as the day.

Looking around I opened up my shields and heard the usual sex, alcohol induced thoughts. I also heard thoughts about me. I tuned into those.

_She is sitting in the Masters booth._

_Who the hell is she to sit there?_

_She is hot, I would fuck her tonight, too bad she is not a vamp._

That was when I noticed a podium on the other side of the dance floor in. I couldn't mistake the Master, even if I haven't seen images of him in just about every mind around me. He lounged on his throne. Dominance, power and sexuality oozed off him. He was gorgeous, masculine and predatory. He had long blond hair. The body of Adonis that was displayed rather nicely in the black singlet he was wearing. I felt Zi shift and sent him a calming message. Geez, this vamp must have riled up my emotions. Or hormones.

The vampire shifted his gaze to me and I felt stuck like a deer in front of headlights. His eyes were a dark satin blue, bored with what was in front of him until they hit me, they blazed with heat. I felt it all the way down to my pinkie toes.

My brain restarted in a few seconds that passed while I processed my reaction to him and I realised he was trying to glamour me. Sorry darling, I am not that easy.

I raised one eyebrow at him. His eyes widened in shock and he tried again. My lips twitched. I felt his power. Tasted it. He was old. As I felt a stronger tug on my brain, I looked away.

I could almost feel him seething at the other end of the room. Since my shields were still open I picked up the brain of a human in the bathroom being fed on. I also picked up the thoughts of an undercover cop who just walked in on that lovely little scene.

Damn it! I looked over at the dance floor where Kas is seriously hitting it off with that vamp. I didn't want to ruin her night by leaving early, there wasn't much of a choice, the cop called for back up. Looks like I am going to get my introduction to the Master after all.

Getting up I decided to play it up anyway, if you're jumping in the fire knowing you are going to be burnt, fan the flames a little more. Yes, Kassie thought of that particular saying, freaking fire-daemon. Putting on a sexy smile, I caught his eye and made my way towards him. His eyes were glowing with anticipation and satisfied smirk appeared. As I came up to his throne he took me in and from the appearance of his fangs, he liked what he saw.

"Good evening." The voice was pure velvet sliding down my back.

I gave him a mischievous smile and slid into the seat next to him. Surprise echoed through the minds around us and I got the feeling I just got away with murder in the eyes of the fangbangers.

"Hi. My name is Alessandra. And you are?" My voice came more husky than I intended.

"Eric Northman. Are you having an enjoyable evening?"

You would think that knowing gods and fairies not to mention daemons would make a girl immune to gorgeous looks and that kind of sexuality, but my libido seemed to be happily dancing to his tune.

"I haven't decided as yet, my evening just started. But my friend seems to be." I indicated in the general direction of the dance floor, where Kassie and Pam were putting on quite a show and enjoying each other. He looked over their way.

"Your friend would be my child's entertainment for the evening?"

I doubt that was meant as an insult but it rankled.

"I would say that they are entertaining each other."

He looked back at me, no doubt wondering why I was being so brazen. Those eyes, were so blue and intense I felt heat all the way down to my toes. Oh boy! The bastard knew it too.

"What brings you to my bar. Pleasure I would hope" He made that sound sinful.

"It was. Unfortunately it will have to be cut rather short." I was starting to enjoy myself, but the undercover cop just checked his watch, he's mind told me back up would be here any minute.

"Why is that? The night is still young. I find myself enjoying your company." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"I appreciate the compliment, although I'm not sure you would find me enjoyable for much longer." I paused flicker my eyes over the crowd and checked for the nearest exit. I will need to get out in a hurry, if things go south. I didn't need an exit, but poofing out of existence would raise questions. The humans may not notice, but vampires would. "There seems to be a slight problem with one of your vampires following the no bitting policy, he is in the bathroom currently feeding and while I do no begrudge the meal, the undercover cop over there has a different opinion to mine."

_Geesh, Lex way to go on that first impression._ Zi chocked out in-between laughter. I promised myself that I would find a way to get back at him soon.

"How do you know this?" He hissed at me, those baby blues were nowhere near friendly now.

"I'm a telepath." That is usually self-explanatory but his face told me he wanted more. Aggravated that we were losing time I continued.

"I can read human minds. Do you think we can take care of the problem before the police arrives, you don't strike me someone who would enjoy their close attentions." He got up signalling to Pam, who grabbed Kassie and quickly made her way over to us on the podium. I was still in shock that he actually believed me.

"How much time?" he asked.

I stood up quickly. "Two minutes maybe a little more. You have just enough time to clean up the mess and get out of here."

He gave Pam very fast instructions in a hushed voice and she dashed off.

Turning to Kassie and me, who was looking confused and put out for having her fun cut off, he offered his hand.

"Follow me to the back entrance, as it seems my club is about to be raided."

Taking his hand, I felt a shiver up my spine, and not from him being cold and undead. I quickly tamped down that emotion. As we were reaching the back door, Pam joined us.

We all heard the cops arriving as we made our hasty exited. My hearing being as good as the vamps and Kassie's was even better. The vampires were adjusting their speed to us, thinking that we were human. No need to correct that assumption.

"Is your car at the front?" Eric asked me as we reached what I assumed to be his vehicle. A flashy red corvette, matching it's owner's larger than life personality.

"Yes. I have a feeling getting to it in the next couple of hours will not be easy or pleasant." I said. How am I going to get home without him knowing about the rest of my quirks?

"Then allow me to give you a ride. After all, you have saved me from considerable trouble tonight." He said, a smirk appearing on his face. Eric was enjoying my obvious predicament.

I looked over at Kassie who gave me a look I knew well. She was hooking up with Pam. I just got outplayed on all fields.

_Do not tell her who I am Kas. I will send you to the deepest level of hell if you do, she's his child. Enjoy your night though._ I sent to her. I knew she would listen, and I was only half-joking about the threat. Her idea of hell was somewhere very cold. I had no problem sneaking up on her and popping her to Antarctica, of course I would have to get one of those special cuffs for her too. That way she'd enjoy the pleasure of the icy cold weather at my leisure. The cuffs were specially designed to contain rebellious daemons who could shift locations, in other words pop. She winked and got into Pam's BMW. Resigning to the inventible, I steeled myself before I looked up at his face. Did I mention he was 6.4, no, well, that's tall compared to my 5.6. He looked smug at the way things have turned out.

"A ride would be great. Thanks" I tried sounding sincere and realising after I said it, I was. "But I am really not sure if I want to leave my car here overnight. Maybe we can go to a diner for an hour or so and come back?" Hopeful that I won't have to disclose my address to this vamp, hey, cautious is my middle name. I cringed, his bar just got raided and I was asking him to baby-sit me. "That's if you don't have other plans. You can just drop me off at a diner somewhere close by and I'll come back and get myself."

"Now how could I possibly leave you alone, it's dangerous for such a lovely young lady to walk around by herself at night. Shall we go and find some food?" he said sitting down in his shiny red corvette, the smirk never leaving his face. Oh brother, what was I getting into.

We headed to the nearest diner. It was a short and strained ride. Neither of us looking at each other but the tension was there. I felt his need to know more about me, like a physical presence in the car smothering me. His actual presence did nothing I approved of. My hormones were in overdrive from being in such close proximity to his large frame.

The diner Eric parked in front of was average, but it was close by.

Sitting down in one of the booths, I was starting to feel flushed under his assessing stare. Time to jump in, clearing my throat I asked.

"I don't suppose you could just forget about tonight?" It was a half hearted attempt. I already knew he would not.

"Now, why would I do that? I rarely see something that intrigues me, and you are an enigma to me at the moment." He gave me a smile, it made my insides melt. This man was so not good for my equilibrium.

Just then, the waitress came up and I ordered a coffee. Eric ignored her, arrogant jerk. She was very put out by that and stalked off, I didn't need to listen in to realise she was calling me all kinds of nasty names.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked him, I was not interested in vampire politics, having had enough of power manipulations back home. He leered, I blushed, realising what a loaded question that was. "I meant work wise."

"It's hard to say, as I'm not aware of the extent of your abilities." He raised an eyebrow, clearly fishing for more information.

"I can read humans, weres and occasionally half-daemons. I can only get the thoughts that they are currently thinking, unless I question the person on a specific topic. Fairies and vamps are either magically warded, or undead." I paused and took a deep breath. "I would prefer not to do this, but as you hardly leave me with any choices, I'll have my lawyer send you my contract."

"You have a working contract for something like this?" He paused digesting that fact before continuing. Clearly not expecting me to be this organised and well represented. "You have done this kind of work before."

"Yes, I've freelanced occasionally." Dad was all about me exploring my talents. He liked me getting experience as well as creating necessary political connections. "I've worked mostly in Europe."

Eric was studying me like a bug again. "Are you human?"

"No."

"What are you?"

"Can we leave it at me being not human?" I asked hopefully. His eyes flashed and I could feel him getting angry. I don't think Eric appreciated mysteries as much as he claimed, or maybe he didn't like not getting his own way, I on the other hand seem to appreciate his temper. Well, parts of me anyway.

"I do not like being toyed with, Alessandra."

"I can see that."

He growled, so I continued.

"You are more than welcome to verify who I am with your contacts in Europe. I'm sure you will anyway. They'll tell you the same thing. I don't reveal my true origin. Besides I'm not the only one keeping mum, Sheriff." I waited for him to confirm the fact. It was a guess, but somehow I doubted I was wrong. The vampire in front of me did not bow easily and he radiated power.

"How may I ask do you know about vampire hierarchy?" he was definitely pissed, I noticed a slight trace of an accent in his voice now. This was not going well. I had a feeling if he did not calm down very soon we would be trashing this little diner in an all out fight and screw the witnesses. Vampires were very secretive about their hierarchy when it came to humans.

"Eric, you need to relax, this isn't the place for us to make a scene. I've worked for kings and queens before, and occasionally sheriffs." I said, trying to look non-threatening and nice. While nice was something I could pull of rather easily, non-threatening wasn't as close to my real nature. Being a threat made others respect you in my world. "I'd like to stay under the radar for as long as possible while I'm here, call it my holiday time. Vampire politics don't interest me. I doubt I could avoid them entirely now, but at least as a telepath there won't be as much need for me to get involved. I swear to you that I'm don't mean you or your Queen any harm."

Eric did seem to relax, but only slightly. He was still very weary of me. Broad shoulders tensed as if he would pounce on me with only the slightest provocation. His eyes bore into me with the intensity of a laser beam. It wasn't hard to see that at this moment Eric Northman was wishing very hard that he was the one with my talent for reading minds. Scrutiny like that from a powerful vampire would have most people running in the opposite direction, me, I could feel the happy haze of pleasure flooding my system. He was not happy to see me taking charge. I had little doubt that he didn't find himself losing the upper hand very often.

"In that case I shall wait until your contract arrives and we will negotiate." I knew he was hoping to get a better idea of what I was by then. He won't succeed. I've always covered my tracks very well. "Why have I not seen you before tonight? How long have you been in my area?"

"I moved here about eleven months ago and the reason you and I never met was because I have not associated with any of the area vampires." I said shrugging.

"A tragedy." He was back to flirting, it was almost like a cat playing with it's food. He just couldn't seem to resist.

"Not really." I answered tartly. I was still irked about the whole thing.

His lips twitched.

"You are not scared of vampires, though you know our kind well it seems."

"But you all have been domesticated and are mainstreaming, drinking that synthetic blood and all. You wouldn't harm an sweet innocent girl now would you?" I said in a sweet voice while making big puppy eyes. He laughed. It was a wonderful sound travelling down my body making me shiver. The tension seeped out of him and he asked whom I have worked for before, we shared stories about the vampires we both knew. I figured I should give him a small lead, just so he'd know I'm not a threat. I knew that most vampires in Europe suspected who I was, nobody ever managed to get any proof. I never revealed it, working through recommendations of daemons acquaintances helped to keep my actual identity in the dark.

It was relaxing to chat with Eric, even if he was trying to pry as much as he possibly could out of me. He was smart, funny and a progressive vampire, we had a lot in common. I was surprised when I notice the time. We have been at the diner for two and a half hours.

"Eric, I have to get going. I still need to pick up my car." I said.

"Of course, my dear." He said while signalling the waitress. He insisted on paying, rationalising it as recompense for earlier this evening.

We were driving back to Fangtasia when he asked.

"Come back to my club on the weekend, I assume the papers will arrive by that time and I will have a chance to read them, we can discuss the contracts then."

I was a little disappointed that all he wanted from me was business, and quickly pushed that thought away.

Irritated with being ordered, I huffed. "If I have time, I'm working this weekend."

"You work? Where?" he asked surprised.

"Bon Temps, there is a bar there, Merlotte's, I bartend and waitress depending on what needs to be done. It's part-time though, since I only fill in when one of the regulars call in sick."

"Why on earth would you do that kind of work?" he asked clearly surprised and obviously disgusted with the idea of waiting on others. Eric was observant enough to realise I didn't lack money, my couture dress and designer shoes would have given me away.

"It helps me blend in, and I enjoy the social aspects. Sam, my boss, is pretty cool. He's fun to hang out with."

I heard a growl next to me, turning around I was surprised to see him scowling. Vampires were territorial towards their toys. I assume that was what he considered me since I piqued his interests. Demeaning, but then I knew it was not meant quite as such, they were just so annoyingly full of themselves. Ignoring the obvious implications of his reactions I concentrated on the road.

His next question floored me.

"Are you attached to anyone?"

"Yes." Deliberately misunderstanding his question.

"Your boss?"

"NO!" I almost yelled. Trust him to make such a stupid assumption. "He's engaged to someone and while I'm attached to many people I don't belong to anyone but myself."

Silence followed that statement; I barely managed to suppress my smirk.

When we got back to Fangtasia it was closed and the cops had left. We both got out of the car and I gave him some time to admire mine. You've got to like a man, dead or not, who appreciates cars. My black mustang with its custom-made red leather interior and latest gadgets was my baby.

Before I had a chance to get into it he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. I looked into his eyes, so close to mine now. My breathing hitched and I had to force my body not react. Being in that kind of close proximity to this vampire was unsettling. My libido was in overdrive and my brain was not happy about it.

"I hope your night turned out better than you expected." He purred clearly aware of my body's reaction to his proximity.

"Yes. It did. Thank you." I answered truthfully with a grin on my face.

"Oh. It was my _pleasure_." He winked, and I blushed. Again. He made it sound so provocative and being this close to him I couldn't help but think about his pleasure and mine. I quickly pulled my hand from his.

"Good night Mr Northman." I sat down in my car.

He let me go but at the last moment I heard him say, so low I doubt he realised I heard him.

"It has been."


	3. Chapter 3

**Another update! I can't say I am entirely happy with this one. While I'm not quiet sure why it's irritating me, I hope you feel different, I'll let you guys decide. **

**Thank you for reviewing and putting me on alert. :)**

**CH owns the vampires, Lexie is all mine.

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The next day was uneventful. Kassie filled me in on the rest of her night. She had a blast with Pam and proceeded to embarrass me with way to many details than was really necessary. She also assured me that she told her nothing revealing about me, except that we have been friends our whole lives. That's my best friend, loyal no matter what. I'm sure Pam didn't make it easy for Kassie to hold her tongue either, Kassie was nothing if not detailed in her explanations. No matter how hard I tried to break her of that particular habit, inevitably I knew just about everything about her love life. I told her about my evening with Eric, and we amused ourselves for a long while at the expense of our vampires. After spending some time in Eric's company, I realised that my five-year jaunt around the world and the past eleven months in Louisiana made me miss the intrigues of my father's court a little. I missed dad and our long evening talks. I missed my teachers. While I was loathe to admit it I missed the political by-play and intrigues. The last part made me feel thoroughly disgusted with myself. Zi found it humorous that I have managed to avoid it for so long. Kassie and Zi believed that court intrigue was part of my blood. While I always protested vehemently, deep down I knew they were right.

What I needed to do was visit my father, I haven't seen him in a while and the old man would be ecstatic that I was finally showing some signs of life, even if they were in the wrong political arena. I knew he would want to know about my upcoming contract with the Louisiana vampires and I needed his advice on how to handle the matter. There was the issue of gathering information on Eric as well. I wasn't stupid enough to sign up to something without full disclosure, not anymore. Knowledge is power and all that. Having a plan always makes me feel better.

I went to sleep early in the hopes that my mind would spit out some brilliant idea while I rested.

Timing is everything. Which is why it's ironic that I managed to catch my father during one of his meetings, my timing always sucked.

"Hey dad!" I said sheepish that I didn't pop in to check his schedule first. I had four pairs of eyes turn my way as they stopped mid discussion.

"Lexie! This is an unexpected surprise." Dad was already striding towards me and soon enough I was engulfed in a bear hug. Good thing I had a little extra oomph or that would have squeezed all my juices out. Hades was impressive. He was a mountain of a man, taller than even Eric. He had dark hair, which I inherited and wide frame which thankfully skipped me. I had the curvaceous bone structure of my mother. He didn't look a year over thirty and with his chiselled profile, I was proud to say my dad was a handsome as sin.

"It was kind of a spontaneous decision." I muffled into his broad chest while trying not to hyperventilate from lack of oxygen. Regardless of my current breathing issues my whole being was welcomed home, this was where I belonged. Dad always made me feel safe and loved, no matter how much trouble I got into. I did not know my mother well; she spent most of her time in the fairy realm. Fairies barely tolerated us, how they managed to hook up long enough to create me was still a mystery. My lack of distinguishable Fairy traits was the reason Hades' was the one who got me in the end. While my pedigree did give me access to their court and I was tolerated, I never really belonged there. That's not to say I didn't spend any time with my fairy family, or had no love from my mum. I just felt more comfortable here with dad.

After our brief greeting and my apologies for the interruption, he went back to finish his meeting and I went in search of Nergal. He was the daemon that you went to for any type of information. Like the secret service, underworld style. I finally tracked him down in the training rooms.

He was huge, green and scary looking. He had yellow eyes and two holes instead of a nose. Green skinned and reptilian looking, most would not see past the exterior to the diabolical mind within. He was one of the few people I trusted here.

"Hello Nergal, scaring the new recruits again?" I actually like Nergal, he was a fountain of information on just about everything.

He smiled when he saw me, a very scary sight if you aren't used to daemons. "Princess, you have come back to us. Does your father know this?"

I gave him an exasperated look. He also knew how to push my buttons.

"You know I'm just visiting. Don't encourage father please or we'll have another fight and I'd rather not do that. He is just coming to terms with my rebelliousness."

"Of course, princess" I didn't believe his assurances one bit. "And how is your life of rebelliousness in the human world treating you?"

"I'm enjoying myself and I'm pretty sure you already know most of it anyway. Actually, I'm wondering if you could help me with something?" I asked hopefully.

"What is it that you require?"

I gave him the sunniest smile I could muster. "Information on a particular vampire in the area where I live."

He gave me a knowing smile.

"Can I assume we are talking about the Area Sheriff?"

Nodding I waited.

"I have a folder waiting for you already. I heard you are in the middle of negotiations with him and anticipated this visit."

Exasperated by his know it all attitude I huffed, but we both knew I didn't mean it. It would have been more of a shock if he didn't have what I needed. He was nothing if not efficient.

"Nergal, you are the best." I gave him a quick hug and a peck on his green cheek. Not many people could get away with hugging daemons, especially this one. Not many would want to or have a reason for it. I was one of the few. "Any chance of a quick summary now, before I read that huge pile of papers?" I was eyeing the folder waiting for me, it was the size of a paper storage box. I shuddered at the thought of trying to sort through that amount of information.

He gave me a reproachful look but started talking.

"Eric Northman, as he is called these days is over one thousand years old. He was a Viking before being turned. He has lived in northern Louisiana for over a century. Made only one child as far as we know, her name is Pamela Ravenscroft. She is currently his second in command. She is also part owner of their main business venture, Fangtasia. He seems have a very good head for business, as he is certainly one of the biggest money maker in the state. Eric is known for being ruthless but also fair to his people. I would enjoy meeting him someday. Maybe you could arrange that?" He said the last part with a wink. Obviously, someone was tattling on me a little too much.

A little taken a back by the last part, Nergal did not want to meet many vampires, I simply nodded and picked up my new recreational reading material. While not prejudice towards any race, he has never been very keen on vampires. The reasons behind this were never clear to me, since Nergal was generally very closed lipped about his personal life and I knew better than to question him. One of these days I was sure he would tell me, and I'll speculate and wonder until that time. His wanting to be introduced spoke volumes, this guy must be something.

"Um, I'll see what I can do. I need to work out this contract first. Can he be trusted not to reveal too much to his queen?' I asked, I heard of Sophie-Ann, she was the Queen of Louisiana. From the rumours, I've heard before settling down in her state, vicious and conniving were just a few adjectives that could be applied to her description. She also likes to collect unique creatures in her court. I had a feeling she would find me especially attractive. Being a pawn in two courts gave me enough of a headache. My foray into vampire politics would give me enough of a headache without having to worry about an overambitious royal.

"Yes, she is a piece of work isn't she. Your guess would be as good as mine. If you need extra information I could have it drawn up for you." He said with a smile that was supposed to reassure me. It did nothing of the like. Although I had a little more information up my sleave, it didn't make me feel better about this whole situation. It felt no better than jumping into a pit of snakes whether you had your eyes open or bound, there was little difference in the end result after all.

After I finished chatting with Nergal, who sent on the files to my house, I headed back to see dad. It was nice visiting with him. We tried to stay away from discussing politics as much as possible, but I had to tell him about the new developments in my life. Naturally, he was overjoyed, in his eyes it was a step in the general direction of his plans for me. He was in such a good mood that he even promised to stop sending daemons my way. I can't say I minded it that much, but it would be nice not to have that particular annoyance.

Saturday came and I didn't hear from Eric so I assumed that he was still reading through the contracts my lawyer sent to Fangtasia. I was pulling a double tonight. It was a full moon, so I was looking after the bar while Sam and Zi were enjoying their monthly run. Thankfully the customers have gotten used to the fact that while I was female I certainly didn't take any crap from drunks.

It was a little after five when a flower delivery guy walked into the bar. They were apparently for me. Embarrassed from the curious looks I was getting, it was a small town and everyone was in everyone's business, I quickly put them in the office.

A dozen red roses and a card;

_Looking forward to seeing you tonight at my Bar tonight._

E

I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or pissed off. High handed vampire. I knew this was as much for me as it was to appease his territorial instincts. In my mind, it was the equivalent of a dog pissing on a bush. Much nicer and definitely not as disgusting but the sentiment was exactly the same, I knew it was a warning flag for Sam. Why would he need to do that, was a mystery to me, we weren't intimate and I was certainly not his property.

I locked up the bar at one on the dot, lucky for me everyone decided to head off early; I even managed to keep my temper in check. Zi helped with that. I hauled the flowers home and got ready for my night with the vamps. Burgers and alcohol were not something I counted as adequate perfume, so I couldn't leave the house without a shower no matter how annoyed I was with the Viking.

I was on my way to Shreveport in less than fifteen minutes, thanks to my unusual talents I could shower and dress at almost vampires speed. Flowers weren't enough of a sugar coating for the orders but I was still feeling excited about tonight. I parked at the front and walked up to Pam at the door. She looked sexy and gothic. Black corset and a tight leather mini-skirt that she worked with a pair of purple stilettos, the outfit was hot and she knew it.

I gave her a small nod as way of greeting. A smile was beyond me at present. My nerves were high strung and my mood was equal parts anticipation and irritation.

"Well, hello Kassie's friend. Don't you look good enough to eat." She gave me a fangy smile of appreciation. "The Master is expecting you."

She let me through while looking me over. I looked good and the complete opposite of what was obviously considered some sort of dress code for the fangbangers who came here to worship. Why humans the world over assumed vampires enjoyed latex, leather, and all had black as their favourite colour was beyond me. I wore a pretty sundress in lovely aqua shades, perfect for Louisiana's sultry summer nights and lovely red pumps. I admit I was big on shoes. I had to have some sort of outlet in between my stints on hell's gate at training daemon politics.

It was not an outfit you would see at this club very often, and that made it all the more appropriate in my eyes. I didn't enjoy being ordered around. The fact that it took me nearly half the time I was getting ready to pick out an outfit was not something I wanted to dwell on. This was not about impressing Eric, this was simply me making a statement.

"Thanks Pam. By the way Kassie sends her regards." I said before going in. I walked inside and scanned the place for Eric. He was sitting in the booth I sat in on my last visit and when he turned my way and spotted me, I felt shivers all over as his eyes took me in. Devoured would better describe the look he gave me; it packed that much sexual craving. He looked sexy as sin tonight. His blond hair slicked back into a low ponytail, he was wearing one of the Fangtasia merchandise singlets and black jeans. Yum!

I had it bad for a vamp. How the mighty have fallen! The realisation just made me more determined to ignore the attraction and get on with business.

He got up as I approached. Even with my shields firmly in place, it wasn't hard to notice the fangbangers confusion over Eric's attention to me. I didn't need to read their thoughts to see jealousy and envy in every expression of the pathetic idiots around me.

"Good evening Alessandra. I am very glad you could make it tonight. You look like a breath of fresh air." He said with a sexy grin, I shivered again as his voice slid down my spine. He picked up my hand and kissed it. His cold lips made my skin burn.

"Hello Eric. It's not like you left me much of a choice." I said with irritation then sighed slightly at the confusion in his eyes. Obviously, Eric never heard of common curtesy, he was a vampire, of course he hasn't. He ordered others followed. Their complete belief in their own superiority always astounded me. Resigning myself to the lost cause for now, I continued before he could ask. "I assume you have read the contracts?"

We sat down and a waitress quickly came to take my order, I was certainly getting the VIP treatment tonight.

"Yes, I have. I noticed your lawyers are very familiar with supernatural dealings."

Well, yes, they would be, I hired the best.

"Of course, I take this matter very seriously. I noticed that my services are usually required in less than tranquil times. I like to know I've got insurance if things do not go according to the clients' plans." I said, keeping my reactions to his close presence to a minimum.

"Very astute of you, I have also talked to some of your previous employers. You have been holding out on me my dear." He had no idea how much. I was trying to think back to the vamps we discussed and what work I did for them. "You are an exceptional fighter, as well as a negotiator."

"Ah. Yes, but that's not areas where you are lacking, Mr Northman. I did not think you would find those particular skills of mine significant." I said with a small smile.

"I do not however have the protection of an ava'h." he said. "And I do recall you calling me Eric."

Now how does one explain that one without actually revealing anything? The truth seemed to be my only logical solution.

"Zionos was a birth gift from a family friend who thought I would need extra protection." I was careful not to reveal who it was; Aries was a distant family member and he was a friend. Not all of my divine family was friendly with me after all.

"Why would you need that kind of protection?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Overprotective friends."

"Alessandra, I have my suspicions about you. It is not hard to put two and two together." He said pointedly. I highly doubted it. There were other supernaturals whom Aries blessed before, and I was rather unique. Regardless, taking chances of anyone getting hints of my location was not something I wanted right now.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you kept those suspicions to yourself, Eric. I value the privacy I have found here and prefer to keep it that way for as long as possible." I said my expression blank. Eric looked at me for a few seconds before answering. All humour gone from his face. I was not sure if he was evaluating if it was worth gaining me as an asset or draining me. You never know with a vampire.

"I understand the value of privacy, shall we agree on something then. I will keep the rest of your talents, with the exception of telepathy a secret for now but you will allow me to let others know I have gained your services and I have your permission to lend you to other states if they request. In return, you will give me truthful and accurate answers about your background. I give you my word I will not reveal that information to anyone, including the queen."

I took some time to think that over. I knew I would have to tell him eventually, I couldn't keep it a secret from him now that I'd be seeing him on a regular basis. The fact that I would be monitored, if I weren't already, didn't leave me with many choice. I would slip up eventually. At least he was honest about everything. I was surprised he was proposing to keep something secret from his monarch. The fact that I managed to underestimate him didn't sit well with me.

"That is acceptable. I appreciate your discretion." I agreed after an appropriate pause. This was something I expected from him. I was a little surprised he would give me this much leeway.

"Did you like the flowers I sent you?" Eric asked smiling at me again.

Damn (well not literally), I forgot to thank him for those.

"Oh. Yes. Thank you, they are lovely."

Now that he was getting to play with the ropes again he seemed more at ease.

"I am glad you like them," He acknowledged before launching into business. "Now, I would like to hire you to sit in two nights a week at the club as well as possibly screen some of my other business ventures. We shall leave that open and discuss it at a future date." He was all about keeping me off balance, flirting one minute then business the next and I had to admit I was enjoying myself.

"Reasonable enough." I agreed. "Will I be scanning your current employees?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "There are quiet a few of them but I would like that you did."

"Then it would be a good idea if I do some of the interviews during the day and send you reports."

"Yes. You can organise the details with Pam and my day man. While I trust Bobby, you will still need to check him. I'll give you his details later."

Scanning the employees was a priority, while the crowd here would be an ongoing thing. The people that worked for Eric were a bigger liability. The work wasn't new to me, so I didn't worry too much.

"We'll need a plausible excuse for me to be speaking to them without raising suspicions." I said.

Eric shrugged his broad shoulders like it wasn't important. "We will introduce you as my assistant, that way you will have access to all the pertinent businesses. Bobby handles my financials and errands, it would not look strange if I hired a second person to help."

I thought about it for a minute. "Yes. That would work. I would prefer not to tell any of the humans what my actual job is. It will keep them relaxed around me."

We agreed that I would be coming in on different days, to keep it unpredictable in case someone got wind of my talents. The interviews would start later during the week. I had a taste of the general thoughts from Fangtasia's clientele the last time I was here as well as my scans tonight. It was not going to be easy work and I would probably go home with a headache every time.

It was evident on Eric's face that he was still curious about my background, luckily Pam managed to interrupt us before he could start asking me again. While there was going to come a time when I'd have to come clean, I was relieved it wouldn't be right now. She looked bored, which was something I have come to expect.

"Master, there seems to be a problem that needs your special handling." She said.

Eric turned my way. I could tell he wasn't happy with the interruption.

"Excuse me, Alessandra. I shall be back shortly. In the meantime, this is my child, Pam. She will keep you company until I return."

"No problem, I completely understand." I said to him, turning to Pam I nodded again. "It's very nice to make your acquaintance, Pam. My name is Alessandra Hellion." She nodded back and slid into the seat Eric had just vacated. Her expression remained bored and I tried not to take that personally.

"You keep interesting company for a human."

"Is that a compliment to me or Eric and you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Pam's bored eyes got a twinkle as she acknowledged that.

"I meant your lovely friend, Kassie."

"Yes. She is rather...fiery isn't she?" I smirked.

"Yes. I enjoyed that aspect. Vampires have to be careful with fire, but she is…very skilled with hers." I couldn't believe I was having a conversation about my best-friend's skills in the sack with a stranger. "Do you have any specialities, Alessandra?"

I'm sure I was doing a very good impersonation of a fish while looking to see if she's actually serious. She was deadly serious. I did not know if I should laugh or be offended.

"I'm very special darling, but I don't swing that way."

Pam did not even blink, her expression didn't change one bit.

"Pity. I would enjoy tasting you."

"Great pity, I heard I taste divine." I winked at her.

"Tease." Well, we'll be great friends, provided the vampire doesn't try to eat me out of love. Then I threw that word right out of my brain. Love was not something I wanted to feel again. Love was a weakness.

I looked around for some sign of Eric. It was getting late and as much as I was enjoying my new friend, I needed to get myself home. I also had a double shift tomorrow since Sam was running again and while I didn't need to sleep, relaxing at home with a book has become a favourite hobby for me.

"Pam, is Eric going to be long? I really should be heading home soon."

"My Master has asked you to stay. You will stay. Are you feeling uncomfortable discussing sex? I know humans are more embarrassed by these things." She was looking more attentive, I was beginning to feel like an exhibit at a zoo.

"Pam. I'm not human. I couldn't care if we were watching an orgy, I just don't enjoy talking about Kassie when she's not around." My mirage of comfortable couch and book vanished out the door when I realised that for the first time Pam's whole focus on me. Oh, hell.

"You are _not_ human. What are you? I can only smell human." That's all she got from my speech. Really?

"I'm masking the scent. I've found it to be rather distracting for my undead company. No. I won't demonstrate. I don't believe you are permitted orgies in this bar." I said innocently.

She looked like a cat that missed her prey. "No, it is illegal. You smell that divine? That makes me all the more determined to taste you."

"Enough Pamela." I was so intent on trying to convince Pam to change the subject from draining or fucking me, I'm sure it wasn't necessarily in that order, that I missed the great big shape looming next to me. Eric was back. I looked up at him, he was glaring at Pam, who looked slightly ashamed. I would bet she was more ashamed of getting caught with her fingers on the lid of the cookie jar.

"I trust everything's ok?" I decided to defuse the situation since Eric was still glaring Pam's way with murder in his eyes.

He turned towards me, his whole demeanour softening before he spoke.

"Unfortunately no, I have to leave to take care of some business. I look forward to seeing you here on Wednesday." I didn't envy the one that Eric was pissed with, he looked lethal in a temper. I was just happy to get out of here and go home.

"Yes. I'll see you then Eric. A pleasure, Pam." I hightailed it out of Fangtasia. In the car on the way home, I kept trying to convince myself that I was happy that Eric was distracted. I didn't want to hold his interest. I most certainly was not interested in him. Try as I might, I couldn't get rid of the smidge of disappointment that I felt for having to cut my evening short so unexpectedly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is a longer chapter.**

**I'm off to work on the next chapter of Dying Love and since unlike this story, for which I have a draft done already, I have to wing it, it's been a very challenging experience.  
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**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the story. **

**As always the dolls aren't mine, we're on a play date.**

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Merlottes' was busy on Sunday night and my shift flew by very quickly. Sam went out to run with Zi again. I looked after the bar for him. Sam used to ask Terry Bellefleur to help him out. Terry was great, but a little damaged from the war. He didn't handle conflict well and avoided people as much as possible. When I worked my first shift with Terry on a full moon, we almost had a fight break out and while Terry stood his ground and took care of the problem, it took a lot out of him. I knew, since I could read his mind. Thus the new arrangement, me as the pretty face behind the bar and Terry was muscle in the back. While I could certainly handle a few drunks without the extra help, it would probably look slightly odd if someone my size was seen throwing around men like garbage bags.

I enjoyed listening in on the thoughts of customers as I served them drinks. While they certainly weren't original, and mostly repetitive, it helped me make sure things didn't get out of hand. I was learning that they were not dissimilar to other creatures after all. If you believe that humans are less sexual and bloodthirsty than supes, it isn't true. They are less likely to act on some of their primal impulses but they have them none the less. Other races are more attuned to their instincts. I was still undetermined if that was a plus for us or if human nature was more evolved after all.

It must have gotten dark outside and I didn't notice, because Bill Compton walked in the door. He made his way to the bar where I was pouring a pitcher of beer for the road crew gang.

"Good evening, Miss Hellion. This is a pleasant surprise." He greeted me in his southern drawl. Bill still looked like he ate something sour. Vampires don't eat, but that didn't stop my brain picturing him chewing on a lemon just before he came in.

Maybe I was being unfair though. "Hey Bill. Please call me Alessandra. What can I get for you?" I decided to play the stupid card and go straight to first name basis with him.

"I'd like a warm O negative, please." He said as he settled into the seat across from me. Something told me Bill was out to make friends tonight. Great, just great.

I nuked his bottle and after shaking it gently to get rid of the hot spots slid it to him across the counter.

"So what brings you to our neck of the woods?" I asked. Vampires generally preferred bigger population areas than this little town. Bon Temps was small enough to have everyone's nose in their neighbours pockets.

"I recently came into my inheritance and thought it would be an ideal place to settle down. I'm mainstreaming." He gave me a small smile. Which I assumed was supposed to make me feel more relaxed around him. It didn't. I could only imagine what that smile might do to an actual human. He's comment about mainstreaming caught me though, I knew for a fact that vampires couldn't survive on that crap they sell here. Slipping in the information was surely for my benefit, if it was meant to make me believe that vampires could really live off that bottled stuff he was seriously delusional. I knew better, but since I wasn't supposed to know, I smiled wider.

"Well, that's mighty fine of you, Bill. So you originally came from Bon Temps?" I asked. Then I realised that was pretty rude of me, most vampires don't enjoy talking about their life. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Luckily, I had a few orders to catch up on, which I filled out with much more attention than pouring drink deserved, trying to get over the embarrassment of my mistake. I can't read vampires, which I usually didn't mind, sometimes I wish I could though.

"Alessandra, its fine. I do not mind talking about it." Bill said in a much friendlier voice then I expected. He must have felt bad for me. "I did indeed live here before I was turned. My last living descendant passed away recently and since vampires came out of the coffin, I was able to inherit the property."

"That must be wonderful." I said, happy he didn't get offended.

He looked frustrated. "Yes. Unfortunately the house is in disrepair and I am having some trouble getting contractors to give me quotes."

"I hope they're not giving you trouble because you are a vampire." I said heatedly. I hated people who carried prejudices. Discrimination was just fear of the unknown.

"No. I doubt it is that." He said. "I think it has more to do with the fact that not many of them are available out of their usual business hours."

Yes. That would be a problem. Bill couldn't exactly call them during the day.

"I can do most of the carpeting repairs but electricity is tricky." He continued regretfully. I felt sorry for him. Even with his arrogant attitude, he wasn't a bad sort for a vampire. I may have misjudged him a little. Sure, he was a prick the first time I met him, but I had to give him the thumbs up for trying this time around.

"Would you like me to give them a call during the day for you? If I talk to them I'm sure they will be able to make a time that's more convenient for you. Or at least call you back in the evening so you can make arrangements for quotes and things." I said.

He gave me a genuinely grateful smile. "That would be much appreciated."

"Glad to help." I said smiling back at him.

We chatted for a while longer. I noticed some of the regulars looking our way. People must have heard about the fact that Bill was a vampire by now. If they haven't then the True Blood he was currently drinking would make the fact blaringly obvious.

He told me that he used to live in New Orleans and we laughed about the eccentricities of the Bid Easy.

When I closed the bar, it was already after one. Bill had left about an hour ago. We exchanged numbers and I told him I'd call when I had the details of the electricians for him.

I still had some extra energy when I got home, so I quickly changed into my jogging gear and waited for Zi to get off my back and onto the floor. He got back to the bar with Sam just after I closed. We headed outside for a jog.

I loved my woods. Tonight they were especially beautiful thanks to the lovely full moon above us. The cool light filtered through the trees giving everything a lovely silver glow. The silence stretched out around us. Zi and Sam would have scared most of the animals before. I really enjoyed the peaceful feeling.

The block of land I purchased was very large. It was one of the prerequisites for me when I was looking for a place to settle down, I enjoyed privacy and Zionos needed space to run. We had small game living in the woods, which was regularly replenished so Zionos could hunt. Of course, now that he hunted with Sam, I will probably have to restock more frequently. I had wards around the whole property that needed regular checking. I didn't want to find an unwelcomed guest on my porch because of a hole I missed.

We set off at a good pace, jogging around the perimeter.

_Are we going to talk about your shitty mood this morning?_

Zionos broke into my tranquil mood like a hammer. Frank as always, Zi never took his time to try and soften you up.

"No." I was over my pity party. I was fine. Nothing to talk about. I did wake up in a foul mood, because a certain vampire haunted my dreams. They were very fun dreams, which I didn't want to have. I was in enough trouble as it was when it came to the Viking. The good thing about my daily morning practise, it left me so high on endorphins any shit that was bringing me down quickly went on the backburner. By the time I finished training, showered and got ready for work I was feeling almost like the bright piece of sunshine the townspeople have come to expect me to be.

Zi didn't take the hint and continued egging me on. _If I didn't know any better, I would say you need to get laid. Oh. Wait. I do know better. You do need to get laid._

"I cannot believe you brought that up Zi. I am fine." I grounded the last part out.

He humphed. How that cat did it, I did not know. That is exactly what he sounded like. Out loud and in my mind.

_Why not? It is the truth. Certainly, it would seem you want to fuck a dead guy. Or undead, whatever is the preferred way of describing the heartbeat challenged these days. I don't see anything wrong with him. He is a powerful mate. I am quite certain he will make sure you are in a better mood. _

I growled at him. Lucky for him he didn't mention Bill. I would have made his life hell if he made fun of me about him too. I was a walking, talking undead magnet lately.

"I'm not discussing my love life with you tonight. You know why I would prefer to stay away from Eric in anything more than professional capacity. It has nothing to do with his undeadness, and everything to do with his politicalness. Remember what happened last time I went down that road. I will not have that happen again." I really did enjoy making up new words.

I was lucky enough to be stuck with perfect memory. Flash backs to my last relationship is something that I had to look forward to for the rest of my life. He was a manipulative asshole even for a daemon, and I was too naïve to freaking realise it sooner. Having had the honour of walking in on the scumbag while he was fucking my stepmother on the morning of our engagement ball would be enough of a traumatic experience. Finding out later that they were in plotting a take over was the proverbial nail in the coffin for him. We didn't have the power to touch Persephone. She was too damn well connected. She wasn't actually participating in the whole thing, just passing on information. That left the other guilty party. He was now residing in a very comfortable cell in Hell. With all the joyous entertainment of eternal torture, I even had the foresight to make sure they varied it from time to time. After all, he seemed to enjoy variety. Sure, I could have sent him into density, but that would be letting him get away with things. While the hit on my pride was something I would have been able to overlook, eventually, you really didn't want to threaten those I considered mine.

_Lexie, you can't beat yourself up about that. I know he hurt you badly but it doesn't mean all men would. Besides, I have serious doubts a vampire would want to rule hell. They don't have the power to control daemons. He would be in no way a threat to your political position. Or you father's for that matter._

My logical brain knew that, but my heart was protesting. In the aftermath of my first relationship, I had nearly lost my father to eternal prison, my position in court and almost caused an inter-species war. I wasn't as willing to trust these days.

Before we could continue our bickering, I heard a noise. We stopped and smelled the air. I opened myself to the night scanning around with my other senses. The wards were fine, but I sensed another presence just outside the wards. Quickly zeroing in on it, I found a vampire on the other side of the walls. My over active imagination was doing cartwheels.

Zi was ready to pounce. He stood crouched beside me, whoever it was really had little chance against both of us combined.

_Shall I? _he asked, wanting permission to attack. I sniffed the air again since the wind changed directions and recognised the scent. Pam. I felt a very mischievous smile spread on my face.

_No. I recognise the smell. Lets finish the lap. She won't get through our wards. Plus it would piss her off. I doubt she is wearing proper shoes to run in this shit._ The ground was still wet from the rain a few days ago. My shoes were covered in a healthy layer of mud. I didn't mind it, knowing they will look brand spanking new as soon as I zapped them, but Pam's would be ruined.

Zi loved that idea and we kept going.

We finished the lap at the front gate, our vampire visitor following us discretely in the woods. I did have a fence around the whole place, it was a bitch to put up but it helped with the wards. The people I ordered it from thought I was insane to fence that much ground, but kept their opinions silent after I payed the down payment. Little did they know that while they may not have voiced their thoughts, they were hardly private in my presence.

I spotted her in the trees a few yards away.

"Pam, how are your shoes?" My smile still in place, aware she saw it too.

She froze mid step. I waited patiently. After two minutes, I heard a reply.

"They are fucking ruined. They were my favourite pair of pumps." She stepped out onto the drive in front of the gate. "How did you know I was there?"

Under the bright light of the moon I could distinguish what she was wearing. I almost laughed out loud when it registered. The vivacious gothic clothes were gone. Instead, Pam was wearing a pink silk blouse and matching A-line skirt. She looked like a young socialite on her way to afternoon tea. I liked the softer look on Pam. Of course, there was nothing soft about the frustrated expression on her face as she inspected the damage on her pumps. I almost laughed. Holding it in was certainly a challenge. Pam wouldn't appreciate me making fun of her.

"Give me some credit here, I'm a telepath remember. I could hear your approach from miles away if I concentrated enough. I also heard you swear about your shoes." I grinned at her.

"Why can't I cross the border?" She asked ignoring my dig. Vampires generally can't come into a private residence without an invitation. I just happened to know a handy way of increasing the private boundaries to cover my land as well.

"It's warded" I shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

She took a moment to process that.

"You can ward a property this size against vampires?" There was something strange in her tone. Awe. Respect. I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Daemons, fairies, humans and other supes as well. I prefer a no snooping policy when it comes to my home. I assume you are here on a social visit?" I was feeling nice after all those endorphins from my run. Having a shoe addiction myself, I knew how shitty she must feel right now. Her lovely shoes were ruined, unless she had help from a very talented friend who happened to be able to blast dirt off any material. That would be me, and considering her current location and reason for being here, I wasn't inclined to play friendly, if she wasn't.

Pam didn't miss a beat. "Yes. We have a human charity event next weekend. I needed your opinion on the dress I want to wear." She deadpanned.

Amused at her quick answer, I tried not to laugh. I got the distinct impression that she'd drain me before asking me for my opinion. My smile threatened to turn feral at the thought of her trying. I may not have the same animalistic instincts of a vampire, but I wasn't human, I enjoyed a challenge.

"In that case, do come in." I opened the front gate holding it open for her.

_I don't like this._ Zionos growled.

"It's fine Zi." I waved my hand at him to stand down. I turned to Pam who hasn't moved an inch closer to the front gate that I was holding open for her. She was looking wearily at the black panther that was snarling at her.

"Pammy, he won't bite, promise." I taunted, knowing it would get her to move. Zionos would never disobey me; she was safe enough in his presence.

She walked in after that, just to prove me wrong. That Pam.

We walked to the house in silence. We were moving faster than any human could and it still took us a few minutes to reach the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her taking in every detail of my land. I had flowers growing down the length of the driveway. There were well-manicured lawns behind the flowerbeds, which were divided by gravel paths leading in to various other features. I had fountains and even a gazebo. I enjoyed gardening. It was a favourite past time at the palace. It felt good to have life around me after being in the almost constant presence of death. No doubt, she will be recounting it all before the sun rises. I didn't mind. There weren't many chances to show off my gardens. I enjoyed each one of them.

"Please come in." I had to invite her a second time, I had wards around the house too.

"You have a lot of wards." Pam said as she followed me in. It wasn't a question. We both left our shoes on the porch. Vampire with some manners, this was a novelty for me. Zionos shook himself out before entering. His fur went back its original black sleekness with hardly any effort.

"Yes, like I said before, I like my sleep uninterrupted. Would you like something to drink?"

She looked at me and I saw her fangs flashing. Zi growled at her. I laughed.

"I meant a beverage that's not walking."

She nodded. If she was disappointed, she was hiding it well.

I went to the kitchen to get her a blood. I knew that I would be entertaining some undead company soon, so when I visited dad I grabbed some of our native blood alternatives. We had different sources of production down there. Our bottled beverages tasted like the real thing. With a kick, we had to feed daemons after all. I handed her a bottled after I nuked it. She sniffed experimentally.

"It's not poisoned. It's just slightly different from what you're used to. You'll like it, trust me. I would never forgive myself for killing a guest. Not to mention Kassie would be terribly annoyed with me if I killed her new playmate," I smiled at her. I liked Pam, she made Kass happy, and that was a big plus in my books.

She took a sip, I saw her eyes dilate and it took her a moment to recover enough to speak.

"What is this?"

"It's a variation of synthetic blood, with special additives." I told her. "I picked up a few of them when I went home the other day."

"You are being deliberately vague." She said.

"I know."

"Why?"

"It's fun." I told her truthfully, giving her a cheeky smile.

"I am not amused."

My smile got a little wider.

"I didn't say it would be fun for you."

She smiled back, fangs and all.

"I think I could make it so."

That made me laugh, not many would threaten me straight up like that. Most knew better, but I appreciated her repartee.

"Yes, I'm sure you would certainly try Pam. At the risk of sounding sappy though, I would prefer to remain on friendlier terms." I got a chilled water out of the fridge. Taking a sip, I considered if I wanted to tell her first or wait until I spoke to Eric. Knowing she would have no choice but to report what we spoke about tonight, I decided to wait.

"I would prefer to have this conversation with Eric first." I told her honestly.

"I would prefer to rip your throat. Who's the mutt?" That was her way of dropping the topic. I figured she was speaking about Zi who growled back at her, obviously taking offence at her description of him. Zi was not much of a dog lover. Not many felines were. It was hate at first sight with these two.

"He is my ava'h. I assume Eric has told you I have one?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did not realise it was a pussy. I have not met anyone who had an ava'h." She told me truthfully. She was still staring at Zi, was she trying to see if he had fleas? Her voice was less hostile but that could be because she was momentarily distracted. Is it my imagination or are we bonding?

"He's usually friendly. You haven't been on his good side so far." Zi seconded that by bearing his teeth at her. He was still in a defensive position, standing ready to go for her throat next to me, but I didn't notice her caring about that. "Listen Pam, I understand that Eric wants to learn more about me. Which would explain your visit. I don't appreciate the fact that he has sent you to do it, instead of asking himself. It's nothing personal against you. But I'm not about to make it easy for him."

She gave me an evaluating look.

"Am I to understand you want to play hard to get?" I was sure she meant games that included more than just information.

"That's one way of looking at it. I get a feeling you would find it more satisfying." I pointedly looked at her shoes on my porch. The pair of gorgeous designer pumps currently covered in a think layer of brown Louisiana mud. Shoe cake.

She chuckled. It wasn't pleasant. Her fangs were out and I had the feeling that if it weren't Eric who was responsible for the state of her shoes the retribution would have been bloody.

"Alessandra, I don't know what you are, but I do enjoy the way you think." Putting the finished bottle of blood on the kitchen bench, she turned around and started heading to the front door.

"Pam."

She stopped and half turned towards me.

"Keep the shoes till Wednesday night; I'll fix them for you….after Eric buys the pair from the current season."

Her soft laughter floated back through the open door as she went to report to her Master.

After I felt Pam leave the property, I made sure to rescind her invitation. We may have come to an agreement involving a certain Viking and a pair of shoes, but trust her, I did not.

The next morning the buzzing of my intercom rudely woke me. I hurried through the house still groggy from sleep to answer and hopefully yell at the idiot.

"Hello?" I said. My voice was heavy with sleep and displeasure of it being interrupted.

"Ms Hellion, this is Bobby Burnham, Mr Northman's assistant," said the little man on the screen in front of me. Shit. I completely forgot about Eric's dayman. Then I glanced at the microwave clock, which indicated that it wasn't even nine yet so my bad mood was justified after all.

"Come through Mr Burnham." I sighed and pressed the gate button. My chance to get back under the soft covers was gone. I had about five minutes while he made his way up my driveway so I went to my room to make myself look more presentable. Changing quickly into a violet slouch shorts and an emerald green tank I padded over to the mirror to fix my hair into a relaxed bun. This was my standard uniform for training. Just as I turned on the coffee maker, my visitor's car came to a stop outside the house.

It took some time for him to collect the large package of papers that was obviously meant for me. I groaned knowing I will be spending the better part of my morning reading them. Normally I wouldn't have minded but I knew I had court this afternoon in Underworld. Dad managed to guilt me into lots of stuff on my last visit. It really was infuriating, but I couldn't put all blame on his shoulders. I missed him and so I caved. I was feeling guilty too. I used to handle the social side of our court. I was the one who greeted the ambassadors and other visitors. Helped out in the training grounds and generally took off a huge load from dad. Running Underworld was not easy. We had to accommodate so many different races it was a logistic nightmare most of the time.

I'm sure that father managed well without me, he had done so before I was born. It wasn't the point, he missed having me around and I missed him. Thus, I let him talk me into things I have been trying hard to avoid.

While I was busy bemoaning my life, Bobby made his way to my front door. I already gave him permission to enter my house mentally so he had no trouble with the wards. I opened the door just as he raised his free hand to knock. The other was occupied with what I assumed –while praying I was wrong- to be the list I requested.

"Come in Mr Burnham." I gestured and stepped aside for him. He was an average human guy in his late thirties. Slightly bolding head and round features. Completely and ordinarily human.

I opened up my shields to listen in and wasn't surprised to hear that Bobby wasn't happy to be doing this errand. He didn't have a very high opinion of me either. The insults ranged between fangbangers whore and conniving manipulative bitch. Making me wonder just what exactly Eric said to him that caused such a unique opinion. Granted I wasn't looking even the slightest bit professional at the moment, but it was early Monday morning and I was in my own home. Then again it could have been simply because his Master was paying me a little to much attention. It was hate at first side. This is not going to be an easy working relationship. The bitch in me already decided to make his life uncomfortable. I felt Zi chuckling in the back of my head as he followed my thoughts. No doubt, he was enjoying my plans of revenge on Bobby. He had no qualms watching others squirm.

Apart from his obvious dislike for me, he seemed to have a high opinion of Eric. He was a devoted to him to the extreme level frankly that disturbed me. Satisfied with what I found and not interested in his unrelenting string of offensive comments I blocked him out again.

"Would you like some coffee?" I asked, making my way to the kitchen. I needed caffeine anyway and it would have given me great pleasure feeding him laxatives in his.

"No thank you. I am here to deliver these as per Mr Northman's request." He indicated the papers in this hand.

"Sure just drop them over on the coffee table." I said pouring my morning hit of caffeine into my favourite mug. It was red, with a silhouetted picture of a white angel girl crouching next to a black devil girl.

When I was done, I turned around to find him silently fidgeting next to my couch. He was scowling at me.

"Yes." I said raising an eyebrow for effect. I knew bitchy well. "Was there something else you needed?"

He cleared his throat. The next words were not going to be easy for him and I took enjoyment in his discomfort. "Mr Northman indicated that I should make myself available to you. My phone number is in the files. If you need anything else call." He paused a little. "Am I to understand you will be the human relations consultant?"

I focused on his face. I knew my expression was nothing short of scary. "Yes. Eric hired me to go over the current employees." I said, knowing he would understand that he was under scrutiny as well. "I will need to set up interviews with everyone who is currently working for him and also any perspective employees would be going through an interview with me in the future, before they begin working for him. If I need any further assistance from you I will make sure to call."

If he was going to be rude, then so was I. While the attitude was childish in the extreme, it did make me feel better. Revenge was a dish I savoured.

He left without another word, stomping with a little more force than necessary towards his car and slamming the door. I briefly felt sorry for the car, which was obviously an unwilling outlet for his frustrations.

Zionos walked in through the back door. _Can I bite him next time?_

I chuckled. "I wish, but I think Eric might take exception to you chewing his errand boy."

_Humf._ He sighed as he gracefully stretched out in the sun.

It took me one hour to go through the records, which was quick considering how many businesses Eric owned. By the end of that hour, I came to two conclusions. Eric Northman was obviously very wealthy, which didn't surprise me. He was over one thousand years old. He had to have had brains to survive this long. Not that money was something I was interested in, but it spoke well of him. The second wasn't nearly as congenial to my mood. It would take over a month to get through all the interviews. I could only do half days since if I had to spend more than five hours a day mind reading I would get a monster of a headache and a filthy mood with it. Yes, even immortal fairy goddesses get headaches. Splitting my time between court and Eric, I had the equivalent of two full time jobs. Lucky I didn't need sleep, otherwise I'd be exhausted within a week.

I managed to train and call up the electricians for Bill before two. I popped to my apartments in court and changed there before heading off to mind numbing meetings for the rest of the afternoon. We had a delegation of Britlingens arriving later this month to negotiate trading agreements. There was a hearing for a dispute between the pixie king and one of the dwarf clans. Then I had to organise the court staff. They were all happy to see me and eager to follow my instructions, which was pleasant and entertaining. Obviously, the person dad left in charge after I left, if there was anyone, was a disaster.

"You've gotten soft, ma petite." Kobal said in his sexy baritone. We were duelling in the private arena (one of the perks of being the princess, guaranteed arena time without upfront notice), my relaxation time in between the torture my father planned for me. I may secretly enjoy politics and power games, but I would never admit it anywhere where it might actually get back to my father. I'm sure he knows but we keep the silence on the subject, which is why we can continue antagonising each other. He forces me into things and I swear and sulk before I comply. A healthy relationship between parent and child needed drama.

"Oh. I know I'm soft in all the right places. Pity for you, you'll never actual see any of them up close." I snickered.

"You wound me. I have been your loyal servant, yet not once have I seen that delectable body I so wish to worship." He sighed dramatically. His distraction would have worked and I almost rolled my eyes, unfortunately for him, I was wise to his little tricks. I blocked his attack easily. Did he seriously think that would work on me? I've known him since I was a child. He was Kassie's big brother. While I had a ridiculous crush on him when I was younger, now he was more like an annoying big brother. An extremely good-looking, charismatic big brother.

"That trick only works on your latest catch, darling. You'll have to do better than that." I told him between strikes.

He laughed, which irritated me. He knew it would. Emotions were never helpful in a fight, not even if the fight was a friendly one. Focusing on keeping myself calm and aloof from Kobal's mockery, I ignored his jibes.

Kobal was for want of a better word exquisite. Yes, that would be a very feminine description and he was unquestionably male. There was nothing female about Kobal, he was just extremely good looking, even for a daemon. Delicate, yet without doubt, male features framed beautiful green eyes that matched my own. His crimson hair cascaded down his back in waves when it was loose. Right now, it was braided tight to keep it out of the face. He was lean but all muscle and moved as fluidly as a cat. With his looks and lethal reputation, it was no wonder Kobal was the most notorious lover in our court.

He never did stop with the teasing, but I won the fight. Proud of my victory over one of the finest in our guard, I graciously promised him a rematch next week. We caught up on gossip. Unlike his sister, Kobal actually enjoyed living in Underworld. He was a full-blooded daemon so unlike his half-blooded sister he had no trouble fitting in. Kassie like me never quiet belonged in either world her parents came from. Unlike me, though she didn't have the power of Underworld's ruler behind her. She suffered a lot more teasing for her mixed blood than I ever did. Of course, I never did tell her about the time I spent with my mother and the Fairies. Their races was so concerned with purism that they were now having trouble breeding, having become so inbred thanks to their prejudices. Their abuse was mental more than physical, the pain excruciatingly precise and rather more drawn out.

Technically, I completed my training some time ago but everyone felt I needed a brush up course on vampire politics. There was no arguing with dad and the rest of my tutors, his friends. I was about to stick my nose into vampire business, it is always a bloody place to step into. Vampires are notorious for their strictly structured etiquette as well as bloody court systems. It is wrong on so many levels that the idea of playing in this bloody field actual excited me. I must have been bored or born insane.

Thanks to my father and his cronies, I made it home around nine in the morning, which would mean I had a whooping total of six hours before I was due back. I knew that sleep was an impossibility today. Father was ecstatic, I was growling. Not from lack of sleep, that never really bothered me. What agitated me was how easily I accepted my old position again. The fact that my life was in possible, no, probable danger because I accepted my position back didn't bother me. I enjoyed the challenges our politics presented me. My only weakness at the moment was the fact that my magical ability could be drained if put under great strain. I was aware that I couldn't die. The thought scared me silly. Most would probably sell their soul for the chance at immortality, vampires did in a way, I loathed this aspect. Having seen first hand the possible ways an immortal could be damaged, I shuddered at the thought of ever finding myself in that position.

I had a thank you message on my machine from Bill Compton, he finally managed to contract someone to fix the electricity and plumbing. The fact that someone else was having a good day, in his case night, didn't improve my mood. I deleted the message and went to have a rejuvenating shower.

While I had some free time, I made a plan for the interviews. Starting out with the closest businesses and moving further out. I emailed it to Eric to make sure he was okay with everything before I contacted Bobby and started harassing Eric's staff. Then I went in search in search of an activity that would help me through the next twenty-four hours. Luck was on my side when I got hold of Kassie. Like me, she had tomorrow off and we made plans to shop. I wasn't about to face another day, or in my case night at court without something fun to look forward. That made me smile for the first time this morning and I happily wandered off to slice up some imaginary enemies.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is a little something to cheer everyone up this Monday. My updating is slowing down, but it is only due to the fact that I am taking more time checking and editing. Don't worry. I'm not running out of steam. I'm still working on both stories. Anyway enjoy.**

**The sandbox isn't mine, I just brought some of my toys.  
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I popped straight to Kassie's town house. I loved her place in New York. It was chick, and modern. It was also the only residential building on that block. Her family had money, lots of it, which was no an unusual thing for daemons. Kassie collected art, and the original works littering the walls of this modern interior made it look absolutely amazing. Of course the simple and understated look only enhanced the beauty of the artworks displayed. Ahh. Like I said this place was always a pleasure to visit.

I was admiring one of my many favourites, a northern winter landscape, on the wall next to her bedroom as I called out to her. "Kassie, you ready?"

She waltzed out of her bedroom just as the sound of my voice died. She was wearing a tee and jeans, with funky flats. We matched. At least our clothes did, our colouring was so far from matching it could be filed under polar opposite categories. She was the sun to my moon.

We walked out of her house two minutes later still giggling over our ridiculous skills at déjà vu dressing.

The day flew by as we shopped. I found some very funky clothes, not to mention shoes. I did mention my personal obsession with shoes. I felt pleasantly replete, like a drug addict on a high. Since I had to try blend in with the Fangtasia crowd, I bought up on black and red. There was no lack of these colours in my wardrobe already, so I just added on to my collection.

We were exhausted, pleasantly so. Our last stop of the day was a little lingerie boutique. Kassie and I discovered Marly when she was working her way through college at the local dry cleaners. We were picking up a pair of corsets and starting chatting. At some point during our conversation, she brought out an absolutely fucking gorgeous corset from the back and that was that. Incidentally, an exact same one is still residing somewhere in my wardrobe at the palace. She often joked that our orders helped her pay off the loans. Since then she has made a name for herself, not only with the supe community but with humans as well. She was a treasure. Marly was a half-daemon like Kassie, but her power was air. Her blond hair looked almost white in the sun and her grey eyes were large and expressive. She had a pixie features. Her short stature reflected her fragility. While I was at court, I used to order clothes from her by the truckload. Her creations always made me stand out even among the uniqueness of my father's receiving room and by that, I didn't mean the décor although that too is unique. My court wardrobe was more formal and risqué for the day-to-day wear in the human world, which is why I didn't bother moving any of it into my new house. It gave me the perfect excuse to shop.

Marly, as usual, had new things to show us and I was trying on a wonderful corset style dress. The corset top was beige with black embroidery and it had a lovely black tulle and lace burlesque bustle skirt. I was admiring myself in the mirror when I saw Kassie smirking at me.

"What?" I asked rather indignantly, hands on my hips. The outfit looked amazing.

"Are you dressing up for him or you?"

That made me pause a little. Admitting that I cared if Eric approved of my clothes bothered me.

_Busted_. Whispered a quiet voice in my head. Normally people would be running and checking themselves into a clinic but in my case Zi really was very real, very awake and obviously listening in.

"Pam. I think I might have changed my mind about the whole girl thing." I gave her a wink. She scowled at me completely not buying it. I felt Zi's laughter race up and down my back. She knew me too well, damn her. "Okay, maybe Eric too. I'm not above saying that I want him as uncomfortable as possible. It's my payback for his high-handed way of pushing this whole thing on me. Oh. Did I mention he sent Pam to spy on me?"

"She spied on you? She got through your shields?" Kassie looked worried.

"Ah. So you are on my side. For a minute there I was worried." Trying to actually sound relieved.

She pinched my arms. I yelped.

"I always have your back, woman, and you know it!"

"True." I smiled and rubbed the spot where she pinched. It was still a bit sore. She really needed to stop underestimating her own strength. Kassie was one person whose loyalty I never questioned. "Getting back to Pam, though, she didn't get through my shields. I noticed her when I was checking the permitter with Zi. I invited her in for some late night plotting."

"Eric?"

"Yes, of course." I waggled my eyebrows at her conspiratorially.

She looked me up and down again for appreciatively, she never did hide the fact that if I ever issued an invitation to my bed she'd be there, when her eyes came back to mine the most daemonic smile spread over her face. Kassie wore evil well.

"He doesn't stand a chance."

I snickered. "Yeah. He's also getting Pam a pair of new shoes, before I fix her old ones."

Kassie laughed. This was a trick we used on our dads until they figured out I was cheating, but by then we had a dozen pairs of new lovelies. It was the best two weeks of our fourteen-year-old lives.

"Who is this Eric?" Marly asked from the back. She was getting something or rather for either Kass, or me. I didn't remember at this point.

"Her new pray." Kassie answered.

"He is not. He is my new boss." I huffed. "Well. Kinda."

Kassie winked at Marly. "A tall, sexy and undead one. Who got under her skin. I'm sure he's strategically planning to get into her as well."

"Who's side are you on?" I gave her a dirty look. Both of them snickered at me.

"Yours, darling. That Viking is exactly what you need to get back to yourself. This living like humans was a fun distraction for you, but I've seen you the past six months. You, my dear, have become miserable without a healthy doze of danger and intrigue. That stuff is like your oxygen or something. "

She was right, of course, life had become boring, but I would never admit it to anyone.

"And vampire politics are going to fix me right up?" I wasn't ready to give up without a fight.

"No. A certain vampire will." Kassie said. "Marley, darling, what you have missed isn't the fact that she has started working for a sexy Viking. Well. That too. But what's important is that our Lexie has come back to court."

Surprise registered on her lovely face as she looked at me to confirm this. "Really?"

I nodded, not at all happy that they were obviously having a grand time at my expense.

"She let Hades bully her into taking over some of her old duties." Kassie was way too smug about this, I will need to plan for a very good revenge. Hmm. Pam could help, she seems to enjoy this sort of thing. It would also be a marvellous way to bond.

"But that's great." Marley was excited. Her best customer was back. I rolled my eyes knowing, fairly well, what she was going to ask next.

"Does this mean you will be attending court again, your Highness?" She said with a glint in her eyes. Marley created most of my court wardrobe. She looked ecstatic at the prospect of welcoming back her best customer as well as setting the fashion trend in Underworld. I may be the bastard child of the ruler but I was a very well dressed one.

"Yeah. I'll have to attend all the social stuff since I'm organising things again. Dad also managed to talk me into extra things. Pernella is a great secretary and while she is very good at keeping my father organised, her lack of imagination left our function less than spectacular." It was nice when your skills were finally appreciated. Of course that wasn't how dad managed to get me to accept. That part was embarrassingly easy actually. He just told me about the winter masque balls that I missed during my little sabbatical. Just remembering the photographic proof he presented after I said he was lying was enough to make me shudder in horror.

We had dinner at a new restaurant that had a waiting list the size of white elephants, but as usual, Kassie pulled through with a table for us. She knew everyone there was to know on the party circuit in Manhattan. It was a delicious three-course affair and we even indulged in chocolate desserts.

By the time I made my way back home it was close to seven and I haven't slept in way too many hours, days even. I spent the next hour and a half getting ready. Zi went out to stretch his legs for a while, claiming that all the oestrogen was bad for his brain. I knew what really bothered him but kept my silence. He was simply impossible in this mood. We did not agree on my plans with the vampire bar so he chose to ignore me. Typical feline!

I parked in one of the few available spots in front of Fangtasia just after nine. It was busy already and a small line of adoring fangbangers was dutifully lined up at the front. Pam was at the door again and I could tell when she spotted me, her eyes lit up as if it was Christmas and I was her own personal present. Of course that's only if Pam knew what Christmas actually was, which I doubted, and I had a sneaky suspicions I was more like a favourite dessert.

"Alessandra, he is going to eat you before we get any good use out of you." Well, hello to you too Pam. Glad you like the outfit.

"Thank you, darling, I aim to please. Did you get your new pumps?" I was all sass, the shopping trip really helped lift my mood today. A couple of cosmopolitans at dinner didn't go astray either.

"They came in the mail today." Now she was grinning, her fangs were showing, which meant she really did like my outfit, I guess. That or she was thinking any number of things that involved sex, blood and killing, you could never be sure with a vampire. "He is on his throne, enthralling the vermin. Good luck." With a pat on my butt, she sent me into the lion's den.

I let a little of my natural scent leak past the shields. It wouldn't have the same effect as a pure fae scent on a vampire but it would make things interesting. My special combination of fae and goddess usually made them close to happy drunk as opposed to completely insatiable and blood crazed. Pausing at the entrance, I looked around Fangtasia. The usual hardcore fangbangers drooled in the direction of the throne. The tourists reeking slightly of fear stared at everything like it was a horror exhibit in a museum. Bored vampires sat scattered around the club, there were only maybe five of them in attendance tonight, including the staff. My eyes stopped at one of the tables with four guys that looked…Goth, would be an appropriate word to describe their fashion.

When my scent reached them, they all stiffened slightly and turned around. Sure enough, they all seemed to recognise me. Training with the guard allowed them to recognise me, which was great when we were under threat but hardly convenient when I bumped into them on other occasions. Most knew me by scent; daemons had very good senses, even better than a vampire. The four gave me deep nods in deference to my status; I inclined my head slightly in acknowledgment. The fact that they recognised me meant that these four would have been in the training grounds at some point during my stint there. I waited to see if they would actually come up, hoping that they wouldn't. Naturally, my plans fell through, as one of the daemons made his way towards me. He was slightly shorter than the owner of this establishment but not any less intimidating. Rich midnight black hair tied in a ponytail accentuated his pale skin that was all male angels. He could almost pass as a vampire. Except that he did breathe and have a heart beat.

"It is an unexpected pleasure to see you tonight your highness. We are here to protect and serve." He said bowing again. I squirmed a little knowing we were starting to attract attention.

"Thank you." I accepted nodding again. "I'm here in an unofficial capacity and you are obviously having time-off. So don't worry too much, just enjoy yourself." I told him, trying to speak as softly as possible. Vampire's have very good hearing. I couldn't tell from his face if he would follow my order or not but he did thank me and go back to his table, which was what I was trying to accomplish.

I went in search of my new boss.

Lucky for me the throne was on the exact opposite side of the entrance, which meant that he might not have seen me yet. The crowd on the dance floor thinned out and I looked in that direction now eager to see Eric's reaction to my new outfit.

If I was hoping to knock him dead, I exceeded my expectations. His eyes were liquid blue lava and he was holding onto the handles so tightly I thought Pam might have to order a new throne. A flame of lust shot through me at the sight of him. His long blond hair was styled back from his face. He was wearing a sangria red silk shirt with the top buttons open to show a glimpse of that perfectly sculpted chest. His powerful legs lovingly wrapped in skintight leather pants. I had no doubt in my mind he was delighted to see me, and boy was I enjoying how much. I liked my lips in appreciation. He was out of the chair and next to me in less then a heartbeat. I heard a gasp from the humans. They must have thought he disappeared only to reappear right in front of me. While human eyes couldn't follow the quick movement, I watched every predatory step. I didn't care about them at the moment. I didn't care about anything but the vampire in front of me.

"Allesandra." He all but purred my name, and the sound of his deep voice made my hormones do a happy dance. "You smell heavenly." He said and leaned in closer to my neck to breathe me in, slowly exhaling cool air onto my bare skin. Sweet torture. He was a master at this game. Seduction was an art he had a thousand years to perfect. I bent my head to the side, allowing him better access. His fangs scraped my neck and I shivered. I felt him convulse as he restrained from bitting and make some distance between us. Resistance was futile. My mind seems to be busy picturing him naked. I had to shake my head to get rid of those images. Focus Lexie!

"Eric." I dipped my head slightly in acknowledgment. Long sentences may be a problem right now. My voice came out steadier than my insides were feeling.

"You look ravishing this evening, my dear. Come, sit."

With that, he led me to his booth. Hatred from the stares of those around me clung to me, a sticky residue. I had their master's undivided attention, again, and boy that didn't make them happy. A waitress appeared next to us the minute we sat. I ordered a coke. She was no exception to the current mood. Her heated stares drilled holes into me. Eric was oblivious. His full attention focusing on me.

"I would like to finish off the conversation my business interrupted." Just like a vampire to go straight for the jugular.

"I thought I was here to work, listening in on the thoughts of your admirers?" I gave him an innocent smile. Well, as innocent as Hades' daughter could manage.

His eyes flared at the provocative look. "Later."

"In that case you wouldn't mind if I put up my shields for now? They're getting rude."

He looked a little perplexed, but then realised I meant the thoughts of the vermin and quickly turned to glowered. Everyone looked away, not willing to meet his icy gaze. I would have found it more amusing if I wasn't listening to the trash they thought about me.

"That's fine." Well thank you very much boss. "Now I would very much enjoy learning who you are."

"My full name is Alessandra Lillith Hellion-Brigant, daughter of Hades the ruler of the Underwold and Mellisandra Brigant Princess Royal of the Fae." I was named after my grandmother on my mother's side. A family thing.

His face closed down and he went still as a statue. I think he was in shock, but it's hard to tell with an immobile vampire. I figured I might as well continue, in for a penny and all that.

"I lived almost all of my life in at father's court, spending limited time with my mother's side of the family. The last six years I travelled the world. By that I mean this world." I stopped there. His expressionless face was making me nervous. If I wanted to talk to a statue, I would have popped to Florence and chatted up Michael. I felt my stomach clench with the beginnings of disappointment, whatever reaction I had hoped for, this wasn't it.

It felt like hours while I waited for him to process what I said. It was most likely minutes but for the tension of the silence at our table made me feel like squirming. I couldn't look at the stony expression on his face. I saw Pam eyeing us from the other side of the bar. No doubt, she could feel whatever was going on inside the undead statue of Eric opposite me. The fact that her usually bored face was now clouded by a look I could only describe as anxious worried me. My four would be protector's eyes were on us. Watching like hawks keeping a track of their prey and I fought to keep my body relaxed enough to give them little reason for swooping. Thankfully, my drink arrived and I pounced on it wishing I had ordered something considerably stronger.

Just when I thought he'd never speak again, I heard his voice. I didn't dare look yet, afraid what I would see in his face.

"How old are you?" The question took me aback, but I should have expected it.

"I am one hundred and twenty five years old."

My voice had a slight catch to it and I hated myself for caring.

Another pause. Although much shorter, it was certainly not any less strained than the first.

"Barely legal for a daemonic child or fae for that matter." That stung. A fact I was very aware of thanks to constant reminders back home. I hated it. I scowled at the table.

"You make me sound positively infantile. I am older than most in this bar." I didn't say humans since I was pretty sure I was older than some of the vampires.

He took my hand with his, the noticeable size difference between them registered at the back of my brain. His was cold against my burning skin.

"Look at me, Allesandra." The words no more than a breath of air but I heard.

I slowly raised my eyes to his face. The stone look was gone in favour of a thoughtful expression but his eyes were warm. I felt those butterflies of hope stirring in my stomach again.

"I have lived for a thousand years on this earth. There is little that can surprise me anymore. You have succeeded admirably. I do believe I have experienced what the humans refer to as shellshock." His lips twitched. "I had speculated about your origins, but this was never anywhere near what I had thought. Well played, my dear."

Hearing his confession all tension eased right out of me. Maybe we could get along just fine.

"I did mention I would be trouble did I not?"

He laughed, it was a beautiful sound that made me smile also.

"Yes. I had no doubt of that, even before I spoke to you. Now I understand what Pam was babbling about when she mentioned you had a new type of bottled blood at your house. It would be interesting to try it sometime."

I scowled at the reminder.

"I am still mad that you sent her to spy."

"I was busy and couldn't go myself. I am very interested in seeing the wards you have that keep out a vampire not only from the house but the property too." He said without a trace of repentance. "Although now, in context with your origin it does make more sense. Tell me something. Why Louisiana?"

"I fell in love with this corner of the world and decided to settle down for a while. I wanted a quiet life away from all the dramas that came with my title." I said wistfully and gave a dramatic sigh. "I think I should have picked Antarctica though. I have a feeling that a quiet life is beyond my capabilities otherwise."

"It would seem so my dear. Dance?" He offered his hand to me and just like that, the conversation I've been dreading for days was finished. He knew who I was. He didn't seem to care about it all that much. We danced to Underworld by Red Nickle Pack, acoustic version. It was slow and beautiful, strangely appropriate. He was a wonderful dancer for such a large man. Fluid and graceful and he knew how to lead a girl around the dance floor. I've had proper lessons and since there were always some sorts of court functions to attend, I knew my way around a dance floor. Eric was an exceptional leading man. When you've had to play hostess and suffer through your toes being stepped on and in some cases probably fractured due to you partner's clumsiness you get to appreciate a good thing. Eric on the dance floor was a very very good thing.

We danced in silence for a while, and I barely noticed that we were the only ones. I was in the arms of a man who gave me butterflies for the first time in a long time. He was certainly no less devious then the males back home but at this particular moment, I could not have cared less.

We danced to two more songs both faster tempo and I never felt more content. It was an odd feeling to have when being held by one of the most lethal vampires I knew, but then I never seem to like things that were healthy for me. I rarely found someone who could match my zeal for life, or strength of character. This vampire matched both and then some. Right now I didn't want to think about how much that simple compatibility of our characters scared me silly.

As the last song came to an end, I was breathless. Both of us very turned on by all the rubbing and grinding, Eric's happiness much more obvious than mine. I was trying to talk myself out of jumping Eric right here on the dance floor. While fun, it would really be unethical when it came to a good business relationship. The last part was playing on constant replay as I felt withdrawal symptoms from being out of his arms. We headed back to our table and I gratefully finished off my coke just in time for the next one to arrive along with a True Blood for Eric.

"That was fun." I commented trying for nonchalance about the reaction of my body to him. Our scents mingled together around us on the dance floor with arousal and lust the dominant notes of the bouquet.

He took another swing of his blood. The time on the dance floor seemed to have let him process the bomb I dropped on him earlier and he was the cool and collected vampire I came to know before. It made me feel better. I'm not sure why, but it made me feel better to see the sheriff was back in town.

"Yes. It was a pleasure to have you so close. I would have preferred to have you naked and under me, but that will come soon enough." He said with a leer.

Who was the telepath here? My face must have betrayed my surprise because he chuckled.

"Would you prefer we went for it here or in your office?"

"It has a couch."

"I'd say in your dreams but then vampires don't have any."

While my body was raging a battle against my mind, my voice came out calm and even.

The leer never wavered and I knew my words were wasted. I could talk until my face was blue it wouldn't help when my body betrayed me at every turn.

"I will have you under me in time." He said that with so much certainty that I had a feeling of inescapability. I didn't think there was anything that this vampire didn't get when he put his mind to it.

"Lover, do you doubt that you would enjoy it? I know that you will. You will yield to me eventually but for now relax. I am not planning on throwing you over my shoulder and pillaging you in my office." He paused to see if I would say anything. "Unless you would like me to?"

"Not a chance in hell." I deadpanned.

My imagination was busily filling in the details of said pillaging. I was still in the process of shoving the not so innocent thoughts out of my brain when he continued. "Speaking of my office, we do need to go there. You need to sign the contracts so you are officially working under me."

That bastard said it on purpose, because the whole walk to the office my brain was on overdrive. I was feeling like I was swimming in Phlegethon and then jumped into Lethe. All afire and not able to think. The five rivers really are part of Underworld. Really. They divide the different parts of it, nobody in their right mind would actually get into any one of them unless it was punishment, or you were a half goddess in training. Because of my god genes their waters didn't seem to effect me as strongly. How did I know that? Because after swimming across Lethe and back I still remembered my name. The river of forgetfulness wipes most brains dead clean, apparently, I was the lucky one who got to keep not just my memories but the memory of my swim. Long, hard and cold, if you were interested. Now one might wonder if I actually had any brains at all if I got into their waters. I do. I'm actually pretty smart. Choice is the thing that was missing in my situation. When you have a father like mine you get used to repeating the proverb, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Since I'm immortal….yeah. Remembering the swim quickly quenched my desires.

I came back to the present when a bunch of papers appeared in front of me. Eric was looming over me as I sat down in his chair. He still had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Prick. I looked over the contracts just to double check they were the original ones. You never know. His signatures were already there, so I went ahead and signed.

"Congratulations Sheriff. You now have a telepath in your entourage." I said.

"Yes and a princess of the Underworld."

I cringed.

"How about we keep that fact quiet for now, it won't help with the telepathy one bit, and I would prefer the anonymity."

"Why do you hide from your heritage? From the little display in the bar earlier, all daemons who serve under your father honour you." He seemed genuinely interested. So the incident did catch his attention, either that or Pam managed to appraise him already. I wondered when.

"Trust me, there are plenty reasons to keep myself anonymous. I'm sure you understand better that any what would happen if your queen found out who I really am. This way I'm just a telepath. I know how long the vampire royalty have been trying to get on dad's good side. We've always had conflicts between us. I'd prefer to keep myself neutral when possible." I was frustrated about that and the frustration came out during the speech. Naturally, Eric picked up on it.

"You feel that we can all get along?" He said. Sure, and griffins are just big cuddly pets. Zi sniggered. He had the worst timing.

"With the proper arbitration and law enforcement from both sides, yes, I believe it is possible." I replied honestly. "I am not naïve enough to think it will be smooth sailing but it is possible."

He eyed me. I noticed that he actually took me seriously, and seemed to really consider what I was saying. What a change that was. Dad's advisors while didn't usually laugh at me, they were too scared of Hades for such open disrespect to his precious daughter, never the less dismissed me as a young naïve idealist.

"That is the only reason or is there more?"

"Well, not all daemons are under dad's rule." I answered.

"Ahh." He understood. He has been a vampire for over a thousand years. There were those who were after me to get to dad, those who would use his weakness for me as a weapon against him. The King of the Underworld loved his daughter. My own list of enemies seemed to be growing rapidly through the years. I heard it's only increased in my absence.

"I will keep this a secret as long as it does not endanger me or mine, Alessandra." He said.

"Thank you." I believed him. Gods help me. I believed the word of a vampire. The conversation was getting heavier then either of us anticipated so I checked my watch and saw that it was still before 11pm, I had work to do and the boss was not helping me do it. "Looks like I still have two hours till I'm officially off the clock. I better head back into the snake pit."

I looked up to see Eric regarding me with a strange expression. I chose not to analyse it closely. It was gone in seconds so maybe I just imagined it. He gave me his sexy smile that made my insides melt.

"I was enjoying having you all to myself, Alessandra."

"I fear that if you have me all to yourself for much longer my boss will fire me on my first day. I would welcome your company in the bar if you are not busy with other things." Jumping at the chance to leave murky waters, although I wasn't sure that shark infested ones were much of an improvement.

Before I knew what was going on, he was in front of me. My vision filled with broad male chest and I was left staring straight at the small bit of chest exposed at the top of his shirt. There was a little but of blond hair there. My brain obligingly provided me with a more detailed picture that contained a lot less clothes and my pulse sped up. His hand came up to my face and traced my lips. Then he gave me a light kiss, I barely felt his lips on mine it was so feather light but I felt my knees get shaky. He did not lean away again, just waited, a few short inches away from my face. I couldn't help myself. I leaned in and kissed him back. Our lips starting a dance of their own. His arms circled around my back until I felt his body along the length of mine. My mind switched off, lost in the hurricane of feelings and sensations. I let out an involuntary moan. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I realised that this situation was exactly what I have been trying to avoid and I should be stopping, but that part of my psyche was certainly not in control of me now.

I hope I am not interrupting anything." She said in her bored tones. I looked over my shoulder at her and saw that her eyes were dancing with amusement. She was enjoying my current predicament. Bitch. "There are so paper's I need Alessandra to sign. Would now be a good time?"

I barely heard the door opening into the office but Pam's voice definitely cleared my head quickly enough and I jumped out of Eric's arms like they were scolding rather than cool.

"Yes. Perfect. Your office?" I was ready to get out of this room and the close proximity to Eric. I almost ran past her into the hall, not turning around to see Eric's reaction to the interruption. Though I had a feeling, he was not a happy vampire at the moment. Pam led me to her office, which was smaller than Eric's. The papers that I needed to fill out were on her desk and I finished those in a few minutes while she sat opposite me waiting.

We did not talk. There was no need. We both knew what happened back in the office. I was not sure of her take on everything but right now, I was very glad she was not commenting. After I was done, I finally looked at her. She seemed to be in downtime.

"Pam." I said.

Her eyes focused on my face.

"You have your shoes here?"

"Yes. I wanted to see what you were going to do." She pointed to a bag in the corner. I realised she was not going to get it, so I got up and walked over to pick it up. I took the shoes out. They were filthy. Dried mud was all over what once looked like beautiful turquoise suede.

"We need to step outside. This mud will just make your office dirty if I zap them in here."

We walked out the back into the alley behind Fangtasia. I put the shoes on the ground and walked back a few steps. I didn't want to get dirty from the blast. I pulled fire. It was just enough to make the mud super dry, and then used the air energy to blast it of the shoes. I've done this before, so I knew how to manipulate things to make sure that not a speck of the dry mud remained on them. Behind me, I heard Pam's delighted chuckle. Must have been entertaining. I think I'll join a circus now. I picked up the now brand new looking shoes and handed them back to Pam.

"Delightful. Alessandra." I guess that was all the thank you and praise I would get.

"You are welcome Pam." I said a little dryly, I was not impressed with her manners. If she got my hint, it never showed on her face.

I went back to the bar, walking quickly past the door to Eric's office. I didn't know if he was in there or out the front but I didn't want to risk being alone with him again. At least not tonight.

When I entered the bar, things haven't changed much. There were still plenty of fangbangers and tourists. The vampires were still looking bored and the daemons were sitting at the table like before.

I was relieved to find Eric was absent.

I made my way to the booth we occupied earlier and sat down. One of the girls came up to me and asked if I wanted a drink. I ordered vodka and cranberry. I lowered my mental shields and began sifting through the minds.

I worked for two hours. Pam came up occasionally to sit with me. She didn't speak much. I think she realised it would be distracting or maybe she just didn't feel like talking. Eric came out about an hour after I started. He sat on his throne, enthralling the vermin. I tried not to look at him too often but every few minutes my eyes wandered back to the Viking. It was hardly fair to deny myself the treat of looking at the most gorgeous man in the room. I knew he looked my way as well, I felt the heat of his gaze on me.

Just after midnight, he finally caught my eyes and made a small motion with his hand for me to come to him. I was not sure what he expected from me now that we had a formal agreement, but I did not heel nicely. I raised an eyebrow at him and pointedly ignored him.

If he wanted to talk to me, he can do the walking.

Pam materialised at my side within moments.

"My master has me ask if you would like to join him on stage." She drawled out looking particularly bored. "Business seems to be particularly good, even the vampires are drinking more bottled blood. I find myself thirstier as well." She asked eyeing me speculatively.

"I let out a bit of my scent before. I usually mask it when in contact with vampires, my normal scent would not be healthy for your bar license but a little of it makes the natives restless enough to have a great time." I said and stood up. I made my way to Eric, figuring there wasn't any point in being anymore stubborn. I made my point. I was not his underling. He watched my every step. Hunger was there in his eyes. I had no doubt someone was going to get lucky tonight. The thought bothered me. He had me sit next to him and together we watched the vermin. It was really a rather apt expression for the pathetic crowd in front of us. I should know I listened in on their thoughts for the last hour.

In the visuals I picked up from them, we looked good. Both of us knew arrogance well. While my expression matched his the rest of us were complete opposites. He was the light to my darkness. Ironic that I was the one who got to walk in the sun.

"There are a couple of underage girls sitting at a table on the left." I said in a soft voice. He could hear me just fine with his vampire senses.

"You did not mention it before to Pam?" he asked just as softly.

"No. I didn't hear they were underage before. It only popped up now because one of your vampires asked about their age and they lied." I told him truthfully.

He motioned for Pam and relayed what I told him quickly. She went to the table of the two girls and escorted them out. I think she glamoured them not to come back until they were legal.

We sat there in silence after that, Eric was checking his phone and messaging every now an again. I listened as some wondered if I was vampire. I suppose I could pass for one, if I stopped my heart for a while. The angry sexual swirl of thoughts was draining me. A pounding started behind my eyes that would surely turn to pain soon.

"I'm starting to get a headache." I told him honestly. I was constantly scanning for three hours now. "There doesn't seem to be anymore trouble in here. The doors are closed?"

"Yes, we close them around one. You have done well. I will walk you to your car." He rose and started in the direction of the exit. I followed.

I was at a loss as to why he suddenly turned cold on me. Maybe he actually listened to what I said and decided it would only be business between us. To my utter delight and confusion, I was proven wrong on my last assessment. We almost reached my car, when he turned around and I felt him nuzzling my neck again. I felt more than heard his growl. I gave him better access.

"You are driving me insane with need." He said into my shoulder as he inhaled me again. "I want you. Yield to me Alessandra."

I wanted to. Boy did I ever want to. I also knew what a bad idea that would be. I started stepping away but his arms tightened. I popped to the driver's side, putting the mustang between us. It wasn't the safest place to be right now. I looked up at his startled face and gave him a small smile.

"Really Eric. I hope you weren't expecting me to be that easy." I opened my car door and slid in. Thankful that I had enough willpower to resist him for now, I saw the predatory smile on his face. I had a feeling I just issued a challenge that I was going to lose. I sped away into the night. Away from Fangtasia. Away from the blond Viking vampire that made me feel things, I did not want to feel. Away from the feelings, I did not want to acknowledge.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! I'm back with another update. I got distracted with my other story last week and I didn't want to do a shitty job so I left this until I felt more normal.**

**So I decided to change the name to Hades' Daughter, this is because that's what I seem to be calling it in my head most of the time and I think it sounds better, of course I'd love to hear if you think so too. :)**

**Big shout out to my girl ElenaM, who is my new beta for this chapter! I played after I got this back from her so any mistakes are my own.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy….**

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Just because I don't need sleep doesn't mean I don't enjoy it, I love sleep. I try to get some whenever I can, so when I woke up around nine on Thursday it was with a smile on my face. Today was probably my last peaceful day in a while. Eric finally approved my interview schedule. I got his email last night, after I got home. It was really very embarrassing that I forgot to mention anything to him while I was at the club. I hated looking unprofessional. Then again, he wasn't really much better. He attached a picture to the email. I drooled over my laptop for about ten minutes. Eric was there in all his naked glory. He was lying on red silk sheets, one arm under his head and a look at the camera with so much sex that would make any sane girl jump him right there and then. Unfortunately, for me, there was also a piece of said sheets covering him in certain places that had me curious for more.

I passed on the relevant information to Bobby before going to bed having some fantastic dreams, staring at a certain Viking. He'll be able to organize the details for me and I can start tomorrow. While I enjoyed working, I wasn't looking forward to the headaches. Reading people for a long time always gave me headaches.

While my coffee was brewing, I changed into some workout clothes. Mentally scanning the house, I found Zi lounging in his usual spot on the deck outside of the gym. That was his usual spot in the mornings, since he knew I would be training when I got up. Coffee in hand I went to join him for a while.

It was wonderful to just sit back and relax in the sun. Underworld was so different to earth. In some ways more vibrant, in others a mere shadow of earth. Time moved similarly through both but unlike the occupants of this world who were directly affected by it, most of the creatures in my world were immortal or dead so even though we had the obligatory switches between day and night, they did not affect us in the same way. It was either light or dark and it did not feel like our lives were running away from us. Then again, human lives were so short and their bodies so fragile. I half understood their perpetual hurry. We had a sun as well. It was just as beautiful, and yet, something about it was fundamentally different. So, I was really enjoying the heat on my skin and the fresh air all around me. The smells and sounds of the earth and creatures always left me in a state of wonder.

I heard a pop next to me and opened my eyes in time to see my cousin materialize a few yards away. Claudine was one of the triplet cousins on my mother's side of the family. She was all fae grace and beauty. Her tall slim body had just the right curves in the right places, her facial features were sharper and yet, gentle. There was no way to describe the beauty of the fae when they didn't use glamour to tone it down. Her lovely hazel eyes normally shined with an innate glow and her raven black hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Exquisite wouldn't have come close. Like the rest of her race, she was perfection, and humans usually drooled over her. The legends didn't get it wrong, if a human saw a fae without any glamour, they would go into thrall. Wasting away, pining, until we welcomed them into their afterlife. The problem was that their beauty was mostly skin deep, the constant strive for power and social standing at court left them corrupt and vicious. The once beautiful and powerful race disintegrated into a bunch of squabbling children. Unlike children these beings had enough power to level the earth several times over and held a grudge from here to eternity. I was constantly approached while staying there, after all with my lineage made the perfect tool in their deprived games, Claudine proved to be my only protection. I didn't really get along with most of my fae kin, but Claudine was the better apple in the rotten batch, but even she wasn't immune to the pressures of their politics.

"Hey Cuz. Long time no see." I said, giving her a sunny smile. I didn't need to stand up since she came over and plonked her butt next to me on the steps. We had one of those sideways hugs, fae were really big on hugs.

"Hello Alessandra dear. I hear you are stirring up trouble again." She said with a smile.

"Me? Claudine, you know I'm an angel." I batted my eyelashes at her and tried for an innocent expression, which she didn't buy for a second. I didn't really blame her for that, after all who'd call Hades' daughter innocent.

"Honey, word travels fast." She said looking more serious.

"Who told you?" I asked, knowing that getting an answer would be harder than pulling a tooth out of Cerberus' mouth if she was protecting her sources. But I had to try.

"Why are you associating with vampires?" she continued, completely ignoring my question. Yet I noticed a flash of fear on her face, someone was spying on me. Fear meant that my uncle has decided to stick his nose into my business. Well, fuck.

"I wasn't aware that I shouldn't be. Is there something you would like to tell me?" I asked. I know it sounded rather defensive. I liked Claudine. I even trusted her, as much as you could trust a fairy. What the myths told about them was true. Fae people couldn't lie, they just bent the truth so much that you had no idea where you left your brain by the time you finished talking with them. It was an art I had no choice but to master.

"Grandfather is not happy about this. You know he has no liking for vampires." She said sternly.

"Last I checked I don't answer to Niall." I told her. We've had this discussion for as long as I could remember. Niall Brigant may be the head of the family but my divine blood put me just out of his reach, it didn't make him happy. Fairy politics made vampires look like angels, and I was technically a princess of the last royal house. Even with my being only a half-blood (my divine blood being only slightly better than human apparently) I still made a good incubator in his eyes. Poor Claudine, I shuddered thinking at the pressure she was under being right under his thumb and all. I spent three months every year in their court before coming to earth, my pink glasses were broken long ago.

"You know he cares about you. He wants to see you safe and happy." She said trying to sound reasonable. It only made me more pissed. I knew my happiness was at the bottom of Niall's priority list. Having me under his thumb and popping out little fae brats was what he wanted to see from me.

"Claudine, why are you here? I haven't even finished my first coffee, I really don't want to get into discussions on the reasons why I'm not impressed with Niall's so called love and affection. I'd need a stiffer drink."

She looked slightly wounded but then, I don't think she fully grasped the idea that Niall could do me harm, it was beyond her. Her one major fault was the ability to completely miss all of Niall's faults. Claude got me. I guess being a gay threw him into the same shit pile as me.

"I am sorry, Lexie. I didn't mean to harp at you. I know you hate it. I did come to catch up and see how you were going with this whole living with humans' thing. I'm thinking of trying it myself. Claude is living not to far away from here you know and he seems to be enjoying it. How about a friendly match and then maybe lunch after?" She said, realizing I was in no mood for serious discussions. The idea that Claudine was considering living away from court was extraordinary. Maybe she was finally seeing the truth. I was hopeful that that was the case. The prospect of a challenging fight made me perk up a bit, the time spent away from Underworld has been fun but I rarely had a good opponent to fight with, and Claudine was very good.

"Sure, sounds great. Knives or swords?" I asked as I started to get up. "Or are you feeling up to trying to beat me unarmed?" I grinned over my shoulder at her as I walked into my gym.

She followed laughing.

"Knives. I know I stand about as little a chance as a kitten does against Zi if I fight you unarmed."

That's true, I was a better fighter than Claudine. Knives were one of the few weapons she learned how to fight with, I've always wondered why she never expanded into other disciplines. It was, after all a weakness. She picked up her favorites off the wall. My gym's walls displayed an assortment of weapons I brought from home. Some of them I kept there for my friends, who stopped by from time to time and we usually had a match. Most were from my personal collection. I had two fetishes that I was guilty of, shoes and deadly toys.

For the next three hours we did little talking. We did our best to kill each other, figuratively speaking. I got first blood, but by the end of it, the drying blood and sweat covered both our bodies, making us look like props in a haunted house attraction. But even looking like extras from a low budget horror flick didn't wipe the smile off my face as I headed to my shower. Claudine used the guestroom with its own en suite bathroom.

Zionos slept through the whole thing. I think the clink of metal on metal made him drowsy. For me, it was great not to have to think about anything more complicated than the move to block or attack. Fighting always helped me focus and soothed me like nothing else could. Of course the added bonus of working off my sexual frustrations may have had something to do with how much more relaxed I felt.

She came out wearing her sundress again. I had given her sparring clothes earlier so she had something to wear to lunch. The dress was a rich grey colour and it looked lovely with her black locks and white skin. She really was stunning, all the fae were, but I felt sure she was just a little more beautiful than the rest, maybe I was biased, and I didn't have that many cousins after all. Knowing that Claudine would insist on feminine clothing, I wore a dress. This one was emerald green, made from stretchy cotton and clung to me like second skin accentuating all the feminine curves I had (a few more than Claudine, not that I'm counting). It made me feel sexy and girlie. A pair of tangerine flats and some mascara, later, I was ready.

We headed out to Shreveport in my car. I discovered a wonderful Italian restaurant the other month. It was a lovely, small place that had inside and outside seating, and their lasagne was to die for. We chatted and caught up on family gossip. There was always someone trying to kill one another after all. She quizzed me on my life and I tried to stay away from mentioning vampires, she was too polite to ask outright. I did not trust most of my fae family, but like my dad always said; keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. I made sure I kept a very close eye on my fae kin. Claudine was too much of a push over to keep anything to herself.

I got a phone call from Kassie, who informed me that if I didn't have any plans for tonight she's kidnapping me to Milan, something to do with a new daemon owned club opening. When I asked Claudine if she wanted to join us, she was practically glowing with excitement at the idea. Her enthusiasm made me a little weary, but then I felt shame. Maybe she did want to spend time with us without having any ulterior motives. It really wasn't her fault I was a paranoid bitch sometimes.

"I haven't seen Kassie in years. How is she?" Claudine asked. We were driving back to my place.

"Bitchy and enjoying NYC." I replied, true to a point.

"Yes. I heard she was living at her family home there. That place must be something else. Her mother was always a huge art fan. The place must look like a gallery."

"Their collection is impressive. Kassie redecorated the house, but left the art. It looks wonderful now. Have you been before?" I asked.

"No, I've never seen the fire daemons home, but I've heard enough about it." Claudine replied, a little excitedly. "I've always wanted to see some of the artwork her mother managed to get her hands on. You know Niall was furious when they outbid him at the auction for Mirriall's latest work." She told me with a grin. Yep, I heard and even got pictures, Kassie enjoyed gloating.

We were about five minutes from my house when I felt Zionos stir on my back.

_I feel trouble coming our way._

The sixth sense an ava'h has to protect their charge lets them know in advance if someone was around who needed killing. It's not an exact science, magic, sense, whatever but when the alarm bells were going off I listened. I slowed down the car. I opened my window and casually stuck my right arm out, briefly enjoying the warm summer air wrap around my fingertips.

"Go scan ahead. I'll drive slowly." I told him. I felt him move up my back and down my arm, out into the forest. He was gone faster than you could blink.

"What's going on?" Claudine looked nervously. I'm sure Niall would be my best buddy if I was responsible for damaging his niece, my possible injuries were not on his 'shit I care about' list. It may have something to do with the fact that I heal quickly and can't die, or maybe he is just warm and fuzzy that way.

"I don't know. Zi got a feeling. You know he can never tell what, only it's not a member of my fan club." I told her honestly. I was getting a feeling of my own, the feeling that my night out with the girls was going to be cancelled. Damn it. I was looking forward to some dancing.

The car was moving at turtle pace, strained silence filled the air and I was patiently (tapping out a tune on the steering wheel) waiting for an update form Zi while watching Claudine fidget.

_There are three daemons in the forests. Armed. They smell rogue, but then I haven't been to the training ground in a while._ I heard Zionos' mental voice, it was a little bit faint almost like he was mind whispering. Our connection got like that the further away he was from me; at least it wasn't static, that would have been a bitch. The last part sounded almost like an accusation. I ignored the jibe. We both knew it was true, him rubbing it in wouldn't change the fact or make me feel any guilt over it.

"Claudine." I said quietly. "There is trouble up ahead. I don't mind if you want to split. I doubt Grandfather would be happy if you got injured on my account." She looked torn. She knew I was right. She had no business fighting daemons; they were stronger, faster and more powerful. Fairies, while exceptional fighters were no match for daemons.

I was already feeling the excitement of the upcoming fight. I may be half fairy but my divine side was dominant. My mind was shutting off and I was floating in the happy nothingness my brain seemed to switch to when I was fighting. It was a numbing place, but one where all my senses felt razor sharp. The mind set off like that of a killer. I've met enough of them to know. My less violent side should have been horrified by the ruthlessness I seemed to carry in me, but its butt was saved a few too many times for it to complain. Split personality seemed to be another trait of my mixed heritage, why didn't it bother me? Try living like that for a century, you get used to it, I'm trying to see if the two are interested in sleepovers but so far no luck.

I glanced over at my cousin, she was shaking in indecision. Her hands fidgeting with the hem of her dress, the movements jerky. Stress.

"Are you sure you'll be ok? Maybe you should call Kassie?" She said, she wanted to stay and help; how sweet.

I gave her a smile, but it didn't reach my eyes. What she saw in them made her smell slightly off. Fear, that scent on the fae was sweet. I could almost understand why vampires enjoyed them so much, almost. Whatever it was that she saw in my face made her fear me, the idea irked me. After all it wasn't like her precious grandfather's hands were any cleaner than mine, not that I was comparing notes or anything. Normally Claudine does not scare easily, so I wasn't sure if I should take this reaction from her as a compliment or…not. I put that thought away for examination later.

"I have to take care of this regardless, and depending on the situation probably check in with dad after, and you know I don't make it back from there quickly." I told her. "Raincheck?"

She gave me a weak smile and nodded. "No worries. I had fun today."

"Me too. Thanks for dinner."

She popped out.

I pulled over with two miles between me and my new friends. No point in getting the car damaged by those idiots. Shutting off the engine, I got out and quickly texted Kassie.

_Won't make it tonight, Zi found dinner._

I got a quick reply.

_Tinkerbell with ya?_

I smirked.

_Nah, she bailed._

Kassie tolerated Claudine for my sake. She wasn't much of a hater but her opinion of fae bordered close to racism. It was her way of showing how much she cared; after all, they all but dumped me on dad until I was old enough to become useful to them that is.

_Typical. Can I have a bite?_

I smirked.

_You wish. Have fun tonight._

After dropping my phone into the glove compartment I called my sword, Lilliane, into my hands. I felt her need for blood as she awakened. She was another birth gift, this one was from Hephaestus, the blacksmith, and his work was always special. Any blade he made was magical beyond what you could ever believe. Fae craftsmanship paled in comparison. Lilliane was bonded and blooded to me; she was my perfect companion in battle, an extension of my hand.

I sent out my mind to Zionos, he was stalking one of the daemons. I smelled and saw the prey through his senses.

_So, have you figured out what we're dealing with, kitty?_

I was pretty sure they were lesser daemons. It didn't hurt to double check though.

_Two water and one earth. From what I can tell they seem to be lacking any oomph, whoever sent them obviously thought they were expendable. It seems like they are bait. Can I take this one out?_

He was eager for a fight. After dad stopped sending his underling last week, Zi has been growing bored.

_Wait for me to get there. I don't want you to ruin their surprise._

He snorted, clearly indicating the amusement was one sided.

I hated running in a skirt, but popping made too much noise, both normally and magically. They may not be powerful but that didn't make them stupid. I ran, my shoes barely landing on the ground long enough to make a noise, keeping Zi's location in my mind, I circled the other way. The forest was quiet and all I could hear was the song of battle in my blood and Lilliane's impatience to spill someone else's.

When I was a few feet away from the two water daemons I said. _Ok, Zi. Shall we?_

He didn't hesitate, springing out of the bushes and straight onto the daemon closest to him, the action efficient and beautiful at the same time. Within seconds the daemon's throat had a bloody gaping hole, blood gushing down, soaking into the ground.

I went for the larger daemon on my left. I stepped out from the trees and raised Lilliane. The daemon was distracted by Zi's attack and by the time he realised he was in trouble his head was already sliced off.

It all happened so fast, barely a few seconds have passed between Zi's jump and my attack. We both turned towards the third daemon. He was shorter than the other two, his skin was a light shade of aqua, it looked dark grey in moonlight. Large blue eyes stared out of his face, which was almost human, meaning it was missing a nose. Gills. He was crouching in attack, but I could see his body hesitating.

_Hmmm. He smells of fear._

Yes. He reeked of it. The strong sent building up in the air around us, mixing in with the smell of fresh blood. I heard Zionos start to purr as he slowly stalked his way over.

I lowered Lilliane slightly and let Zi advance on him. The daemon's eyes widened when he noticed the panther. Zionos' black coat made him look like a shadow in the night, if it wasn't for his eyes reflecting the moonlight in an eerie green glow you wouldn't have seen him coming, then again if he didn't want you to see…

"Looks like your friends are out of commission." I said without any infliction in my tone. I could tell by his expression that whatever he saw on my face was scaring him more than Zi. "Shall we have a friendly chat?"

He snarled at me. He was a reptilian daemon, scaly skin covered his face and neck, his arms had elongated digits and long claw-like nails and from what I could see in his mouth I really wouldn't want to kiss it. Not that it was a problem, I was used to seeing all kinds of creatures, and they all had some beauty in them, if not exactly attractive to me that didn't mean they were any less beautiful. His attitude sucked though.

Zionos roared back and swiped a paw at him, green blood oozed out of the cuts on his torso. He looked down at them and shrank back from us, finally starting to realise that he wasn't the biggest shark around. His eyes darted to the side, he was obviously thinking of running.

"Now. Now. Darling, I wouldn't recommend trying to run. It would only make it less pleasant for you and more fun for Zi. He hasn't had a good hunt in a while." I said playfully. I know, it's not nice, but my night got interrupted and I was feeling bitchy. "Shall we play twenty questions?"

"Why should I, bitch?" he snarled back. He had that peculiar accent when he spoke. Most daemons did, their native tongue being so different to any of the human dialects. His reptilian mouth didn't help the pronunciation much.

"Because I am willing to give you a quick death, instead of handing you over to Asmodeus, who, I assure you, will make sure you will stay alive for a long, long time." I said with a smile that held lots of promises, none of them good.

I saw him swallow and he glanced towards the sword I was holding. Yes. He realised I was giving him the easier option. Asmodeus' infamous imagination when it came to torture wasn't something anyone cares to test out on their own skin. He wasn't exactly on my best buddy list, probably because even I found him sociopathic enough to be cautious of, but I wasn't virtuous enough not to use all the tools in my arsenal.

"Zagan got out. He made us come on this fucking suicide mission." He finally said.

My body locked up, panic racing up my veins so fast that my heart missed a few beats. My mind stayed calm through the panic attack my body was having, I was still in my killer zone and nothing fazed me there, when I come back to myself, hopefully when I was very much alone, then it'll catch up.

"Where is he?" I asked. If he was out, I was in serious fucking trouble. Along with his unhealthy obsession with me, he got his kicks from torturing others… innocent others.

"I don't know. We got contacted by a third party." He said.

"How do you even know it was him then? It could have been any one of the rebels." I said.

He laughed. It would have scared a human to death.

"You obviously have been away from court for too long or you would have heard the gossip."

Interesting that a rogue would know that, fucking gossiping bitches, I hated the fact that I had no privacy.

"I was there last week. I didn't hear anything about this." I said. I only spoke to Nergal about Eric, if he knew any of this, why wouldn't he have mentioned it, shit.

_That is a good question which you can think about later. Can I eat him now?_

Zionos cut into my thoughts and I focused back on the daemon in front of me, ignoring Zi's last question for now.

"What else?"

"He wants your blood now. That is all I know." He said with a hint of a menacing smile.

His head was rolling just as he finished the last word.

_I wanted to play_.

I ignored Zi's whining, he was like a spoilt brat at times.

We cleaned up and had us a nice daemon bonfire at the back of my house. The woods around my property were usually empty of strange humans, but you never know. I really didn't feel like having a conversation with Bud Dearborn especially considering the bodies' unusual appearance. _Actually Sheriff they're daemons that were sent to try and kidnap me or something._Yeah, sure.

I went to get my car too. When I got back to the house and parked, I went around the back to check that everything burned out properly. No need to have daemon remains scattered, they aren't good fertilizer since they don't decay, so burning was the easiest option available. Zi was lying stretched out as close as could be to the fire, enjoying the warmth.

I sat down on the back steps and began cleaning Lilliane. The methodical task helped me process the news. Zagan, my ex-fiancé, ex-lover and the daemon that almost got his hands on the crown of Underworld has managed to escape Hell, the one place nobody escapes from. A mess was such a mild description of the shit I was in right now. We sat there in silence for a while, the only sounds coming from the crackling of the fire and the nocturnal animals in the forest. It was really quiet and relaxing, so when I heard the distinct sound of someone popping in, literally, I couldn't help but jump a little.

"So I was out at this cool club, getting hit on by some slimy human and listening to one of the worst bands I've heard in years; boring. Who'd you pulverize?" She said grinning happily my way. She flicked her hand at the fire, which started to burn brighter again. Zi purred blissfully in thanks.

Kassie was still wearing her club gear. A non-existent dress in a light purple, glittery fabric and sky-high heels, on me it would have been trashy, she looked hot. She walked over and parked her butt on the steps next to me, I was getting hugged again. It must be Lexie hug day today and I didn't get the memo. I hugged her back and enjoyed the comfort for a minute before pulling away. She was enjoying it for a whole host of other reasons as well.

"Bait. Three against two aren't what I would call good odds for anyone." I said.

"Not against you two." She replied.

We sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. I finished cleaning Lilliane and felt her cool touch at the nape of my neck as she slid back into place on my skin. Like Zi, Lilliane was a living tattoo on my back; the only difference was that she didn't climb around me, tickling or scratching, just to prove her point.

I leaned back, putting my elbows on the steps behind me and stared fixedly into the fire.

"Zagan is out." I finally told her, breaking the silence around us.

I felt her flinch next to me and her head snapped, eyes narrowing at me. Trying to see my reaction I guess, good luck, I've been trying to figure it out myself for the past hour.

"You don't seem upset about it." Upset, no, that would mean I would have to admit that I should have killed him instead. Call me stupid or weak, but condemning your ex-lover to an eternity in density, even if he was a psychotic killer was something I'd hoped to avoid. Now the choice was made for me. That's what was going to be giving me nightmares for a while.

"I don't see why I should waste the energy. I was the one that hesitated and now... I just didn't think it would happen this soon. No, I hoped it wouldn't happen at all. I hoped dad was wrong about him." I told her honestly.

She thought about that for a minute, her face was a mixture of worry and excitement. She was part daemon, so a good fight always made her happy.

"Do you know where he is?"

I sighed. "No." But I will, very soon.

"Want some help?" She asked hopefully.

"No. I want you out of this." I said quickly. "He is after blood. Yours would make his day. He knows my weak points."

She was not happy to hear that. I knew she wanted to fight with me. She wasn't strong enough. Half-daemons never were.

"I am going to assign you a guard." I said and waited for her to blow up in my face. It wasn't a long wait.

"Lex, I cannot believe you are saying that! You wouldn't! I can look after myself." She spluttered at me and her face was full of righteous indignation.

"I know that he will come after me and mine. I know that you are worth to me more alive and healthy than broken. I know what he is capable of." I said, getting a little angry. "I also know that you are no match for him. I will not put you in danger if I can help it."

She was pissed. I turned around and caught one of her hands.

"Kassie, I know you aren't happy with this. I would be furious as well. I need to know you are safe. I've seen what he can do. I don't think I can bear seeing you that broken." I told her gently. "Besides, I'm sure it won't be for long." One could hope.

She was still pissed but I saw in her eyes that she understood.

"You better. I hate baby-sitters."

My lips twitched a little and I sat back again knowing that the argument was finished.

"He better be hot." She said in a little while.

I grinned. I knew she wouldn't stay mad.

"He will be very hot darling." I promised. "Stay at my place for tonight, please?" I asked her, giving her a puppy eye look that I knew she wouldn't be able to resist. "I'll feel much better with you close by. Pretty please…"

She laughed at my tactics.

"Alright. This doesn't get you off my blacklist though."

We ended up having a fun night. Ice cream, pj's and some romantic comedies always make you feel that the world is a better place.

"Morning, Sunshine!" Kassie's cheerful voice came through the door to my room.

I groaned. Kassie is a morning person, freaking fire-daemons and their metabolism, she was feeling peachy keen while I had the hangover. With all my special powers and mojo a simple hangover was way too complicated to heal.

"Go away." I muttered at her.

She laughed and opened the door to my bedroom. The smell of coffee hit my nose and my eyes started to feel less heavy. I cracked open one eye to see her making her way towards the bed. I hate morning people on principle.

"Get up sleepy head. It's almost eleven and I know you have a date with Drop Dead Gorgeous tonight so I want to spend some time with you before I go back home." She said still in her happy mood.

"It's not a date. I work for the damn man." I grumbled and hid under a pillow. She swatted my bottom. I figured it was just a matter of time before she would decide to make me her personal trampoline, so I got up before that happened. I made my way straight towards the coffee cup waiting for me in the kitchen. Kassie may be a morning person but she sure knew I wasn't and as much of a pain in the behind as she was, at least she didn't leave me high and dry.

Taking a sip of my coffee I felt instantly better.

"Wanna spar?" I asked. She may be weaker but it would still be fun.

"Sure. How about I go and get changed while you finish up your coffee and become the sweet best friend again?" She said with a smile and waltzed out of the living room.

"I am a lot of things but sweet ain't one of them, darling." I called after her.

I heard her chuckle from her room.

Just then Zi came in the back door.

_She is insufferable in the mornings. How is it that she is your best friend?_He said. Zionos was a very grouchy kitty in the mornings just like his momma.

I gave him a small smile.

"She makes up for it with her other character traits." I told him.

_What traits would those be?_ I guess I wasn't the only one who got woken up. _Kick her butt for me, I am going back to sleep._

"Oh poor kitty. I know you love her, you little traitor, you adore it when she scratches your back."

_That is possibly the only redeeming quality that half- daemon has._

With that he proceeded to curl up in the nice spot of sun next to the back door.

I walked away coffee in hand and headed to my bedroom to get changed as well. There was no talking to that beast in the mornings.

We had a fun and relaxed session and considering everything that has happened it was nice. We used to train together back home so it was easy to fall back into the same routines. Hand to hand practice first, then swords and then we had playtime. Anything goes as long as it was within reach. I had a lot of stuff in the gym, which wouldn't be standing if I didn't have wards on the whole place.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hellooo! So I've been a little distracted by a certain Viking and his Maker and neglected Lexie for a while. My deepest apologies! **

**I am trying to make up for it with a longer chapter. **

**Thank you for the reviews and I'm seriously happy you all enjoying the story.**

**Big hugs and kisses to my beta ElenaM!**

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My phone rang as I got out of the shower and I ran to the kitchen in my fluffy red towel hoping I'd get to it in time. If it was who I think it was and he was free to take on a job then Kassie will be one happy girl and I'll be off her shit list.

"Hello." I said a little breathily from my mini sprint.

"Alessandra? Please tell me I interrupted you in the middle of sex with another woman." I heard a deep sexy voice on the other end. It was the kind of voice that'd get a girl to lose her panties real quick if she wasn't careful.

"Wouldn't you just come from the thought but your timing couldn't be more perfect, I'm wet and naked right now." I told him with a cheeky smile. I met Cresil in France when I was travelling. He was a full-blooded daemon and a hot-blooded man with a very, very healthy appetite. He was there on some sort of official business for dad, which at the time I cared nothing about and from his ripped physique and lethal eyes I got the impression he wasn't exactly the negotiation type. Later, after I all but blackmailed Nergal (which is nearly impossible to do) into giving me more info over a secure line I found out I was slightly wrong, he was a negotiator, the type that always closed the deal in his favour. When I was trying to figure out who to assign to Kass, his face popped into my mind. He was perfect for the job and for some extracurricular activities.

"Oh do tell…" he all but purred through the phone.

"I just jumped out of the shower to answer your call, leaving my poor girlfriend all alone in there. But enough about me tell me who you're doing?" I smirked as I heard a muffled groan.

"You are trying to kill me darling and I'm not doing anyone right now. Life at the palace while never dull is rather celibate, can I come over?" He pleaded.

"That depends on how you feel about guarding a female body?" I figured I should get straight to the point. I only had six hours to come up with someone for Kassie, less if she took off early.

"Are you offering me a job?" His voice became smoother if that was possible, Cresil was lethal usually, double that if he went into business mode and the voice was a good indicator when he did go into business mode, that would be now. Crap, I was a great negotiator but I was kind of hoping he'd see this as a favour for a friend that didn't come with any tender hooks for later.

"More like an opportunity for temporary change of living locations." I answered.

"I am listening."

"I assume you have heard the news?"

There was a pause.

"Not all of us live in isolation, yes, I've heard, but something tells me I won't be living on your couch."

"How perceptive of you, darling." Sarcasm dripping like chocolate sauce on a banana split. "I have enough testosterone to deal with, without you adding your alpha male crap. I need you to spend sometime with a friend of mine."

"What exactly do you need?" He asked, completely ignoring my bitchiness.

"With my sociopathic ex out with access to whatever network of traitors left, I would prefer to have full time guards for Kassie; she isn't strong enough to handle what he can throw at her." I answered.

"You want me to guard a half-daemon?" He asked, surprise colouring his normally professional voice.

"More like backup, because if she ever actually heard her name in the same sentence as the verb guard…well, I'll just say that I would be hiring you to guard my clothes." I let him splutter his way through the idea that I would actually consider hiring him to guard shoes.

"Fine, I'll backup, but you'll owe me a favour."

"Yeah, yeah. When can you get here, she's all but blasted my ass since I won't let her leave without muscle."

"Something you should be considering for yourself, Lexie, no matter how much of a kick ass bitch you are, there are certain odds that would overpower even you. Fuck, I wouldn't want to see you as a victim. I've seen what happened to those who were in his hands." He said without a trace of humour in his deep voice.

I shuddered, I've seen them too, what was left of them, after all they were all messages for me. Love notes. Shudder. Suddenly my bright fun morning turned greyish. When I answered I knew my voice was glacial and we were no longer friends but Princess and subject. "You forget I have survived him already. I will do so again. What time can you get here?" Yes, it was mean playing the royalty card, but the images still haunted me and I really didn't want to have this conversation twice in one day…I was pretty sure Hades already made a list of candidates.

He must have picked up on my mood because he told me to give him a few hours to pack up some gear.

"I'll be at court today. Let me know when you're available and we'll come and find you." I told him.

We hung up and I went to get changed for my meeting with dad.

"Kassie, you're all set but Hot and Dangerous won't be available for a few hours yet. You want to come and visit the palace with me?" I called out to her. She was still in her room. My guest room was on the other side of the house but she heard me anyway. Daemons had good hearing.

"Sure. I can check in with my dad, remind him he has a daughter." She said half sarcastically. Kassie's dad was part of the daemon research team at the labs. He would never be a poster dad but he did love his daughter, he just occasionally forgot about her. It wasn't anything personal, he forgot about a lot of things when there was a new project at the lab, basic life necessities such as food, sleep and hygiene were on the list too so I knew Kassie didn't mind that much, she had me after all.

"What's he researching now?" I asked as I pulled on a light blue t-shirt which had 'Fire makes the world go round" in big scarlet letters on the front. It also had a picture of a cute little devil with a pitchfork on fire. I loved some of the human representations of Underworld, lil' devils were a favourite of mine. The amount of fun we've had over the decades with different types of horns and tails and t-shirts with Kass, I had a whole section of my wardrobe dedicated to them. I pulled on my comfy jeans and some red lacquered flats.

"You know what he's like. If it's not completed he won't tell anyone shit, not even me. I am sure we'll know what it is sooner rather than later." She called back. "I just hope it won't take him a decade like the last one." The last one she was referring to was the upgraded security doors for daemon holding cells. He designed ones that could absorb all magic and were impenetrable. They could hold almost all daemons, with the exception of maybe a few of dad's high-ranking generals. They were soul sworn so I doubted there would be any trouble from them. Naturally, the doors haven't been installed on the level that Zagan was being held on before he miraculously escaped.

We met up in the living room, I picked up Zi, who didn't even wake up for the transference, and popped to the frond hall of my chambers at the palace. I had a whole wing to myself. I was the only daughter of the king, illegitimate or not that came with a lot of perks, probably as a way to make up for all the political shit that constantly got rained on my head along with the death threats and insane ex-fiancés.

We haven't taken two steps when Killira walked into the room.

"It is a pleasure to see you back so soon your highness." She said lowering her head. "You too Miss Kassandra." She gave Kassie a lesser nod.

Killira has practically raised me; she was my governess when I was a little baby and later became my confidant, assistant and basically anything I needed her to be. She hasn't changed all that much. She was a daemon after all. I loved her like a mother, with my own mother being absent for most of my childhood, she filled in the void. No wonder I didn't get along with my fairy family.

"Just coming through, Killira. It's good to see you again." I gave her a hug. She blushed a deep blue. She was mostly human looking but her skin colour was a lovely light blue. She had gills too. She was a water daemon. Killlira was a stickled for formality but I knew she loved hugging me too. "I came to talk to father, do you know if he is busy right now?"

"I believe he is holding court at the moment, your highness." She replied. Shit. I forgot about court, once a fortnight we had court for denizens of Underworld who had some sort of problems the local authority couldn't resolve or if the local authorities needed resolution with problems between each other. Daemons weren't known for their diplomatic qualities. Even our current ambassador, Rimmon, had a less than stellar diplomatic policy. It went something along the lines of torture until all the royal conditions were met. That was exactly why dad wanted me to step in as the royal ambassador and the reason why the one day of court turned into more of a two or sometimes three day session with periodic brakes for rest and food. The upside was that we always had a party after, which I would need to start organizing today.

"Thank you Killira. I probably won't get a chance to come back tonight but I'll be here tomorrow. Can you start putting things together for me and I'll look over them when I come back." I gave her an affectionate kiss as we walked out. I went straight to the courtrooms and Kassie headed towards the lab complex.

Sure enough, I saw dad sitting in his judge chair, looking bored. He hated court days.

Hades was tall, even sitting he towered over everyone in the room. His dark curly hair was styled back and fell past his shoulders in perfect midnight ringlets. His olive complexion set off the green of his eyes, the same eyes that I saw staring at me every morning in the mirror. Thank the gods I took after my dad. He was handsome, in a godlike way. I was daddy's little girl and it was hard for me to find faults in him, after all he has been my hero for over a century.

I slipped into the room and leaned on the wall at the back listening in on the proceedings. I always enjoyed listening in when he worked, it was the time I got to spend with my father, and I loved it.

The case was extremely basic and dad was done with them pretty quickly, as he passed his judgment he scanned the room. I waved. I saw the sides of his mouth lift. That was as happy as you get from the Ruler of Underworld in public; he had a reputation after all.

"Let us take a break and reconvene in half an hour." He said to the court in general and rose from his chair. He made his way out to the side door and I quickly followed him.

We went to his office without saying a word. You never know who will be listening in, the creatures that lived here were tricky and not to mention big gossips.

Once inside I closed the door and murmured a damper spell, so we wouldn't be overheard. I turned around to see dad sitting down behind his desk assessing me with his eyes.

"To what do I owe this visit, Lexie?" He asked. As if the devil didn't know already.

"Dad, don't pretend you didn't already know Zagan is out." I told him scowling, and then proceeded to telling him about last night's attack. When I was done, he looked furious and when Hades was furious, you prayed to whichever gods you remembered that he wasn't mad at you. I think I was probably the only being with the exception of his siblings who didn't shit their pants when they saw him like this.

"Alessandra, you will move back to the palace immediately. I want no argument over this." He said. His voice burning with barely restraint anger, which rolled out of him like a heavy mist, the air around us started to heat up. Another reason most didn't want to be there when he got mad.

"I most certainly will not. We've been through this before. I can and will look after myself." I said, in a normal voice, like I didn't have the King of the Underworld mad as an erupting volcano only a foot away from me. "How do you expect me to do my future job if you constantly try to protect me? I won't be able to hide behind you forever dad. You and I both know it. I can't anyway. I have a contract agreement back in Louisiana." I told him.

The temperature skyrocketed. Lucky dad's office was protected because otherwise everything would be either ash or puddles of useless metal by now.

"What contract?" He said between his teeth. "You have not mentioned that little bit of news last time."

I shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal.

"I am currently working with the local vampire Sheriff. It's not a big deal, just part time telepathy work, like the jobs I did in Europe. You told me I needed to build up my inter-species relations." I pointed out reasonably.

A look of pride passed over his face, so quickly I almost didn't catch it, and it was quickly replaced by what I've come to call a concerned scowl.

"Zagan is dangerous. You know that." He said, his anger cooling slightly. "I don't like you being out there. It would be much safer if you were here until we can handle this situation."

"Dad. There is no 'we' in the handling. I am handling this myself." I told him. I was getting worked up myself now, I took a big breath to calm down. The two of us angry won't help me get my point across. "It's not like I can't handle him. Last time I sent him to hell was barely six years ago. I can't see him being a big problem."

"That's where you are wrong, agapi mou. Last time you had the support of my court and power. You battled him here, where my power's strongest. You won't have that if he finds you alone on earth." He said.

"Dad, he won't be at full strength there either. Besides I have Zionos to help me." I wasn't going to budge on this. "If I can't handle him myself, how am I going to take on the role of ambassador? People won't respect me if they think I am just your daughter who got the job because her daddy let her. I want to be respected for me, not because I have a powerful father."

He gave me a long look, the kind of piercing stare that makes you squirm. I held still, willing my body not to move. I had to win this. Finally, and it really seemed like it took forever, he nodded.

"Fine, you take care of it then. I will still do what I can from here. And you will do the Calling ceremony as soon as it can be arranged." He said.

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him.

"What?" I hissed out.

"You have been delaying this for decades and I've let you. This time there is no way around it. You will do the Calling." His voice was hard and uncompromising. "I won't have you unprotected."

"And you think my Calling will help me be safer? This is bullshit." I screamed, gone were the temper restraints I was so careful to impose on myself. This was a major fuck up.

"I will not budge on this if you insist on staying where you are, I insist on this one condition. You will have a few days to prepare but, Alessandra, you will do this." He said and I knew he meant it. Fuck. "In the meantime I will let you handle the situation without interference. We will try and get as much information for you as possible but you're running the show."

"Thank you. I would appreciate the information, whatever Nergal can find out for me." I said, relaxing. I'll blow up again later, this was as good as it was going to get and no matter how reluctant I've been about things I would have to do the Calling eventually. "You obviously have a larger information network at your disposal and I would be a fool not to use it to my advantage."

"No, my daughter is never a fool." He said with an affectionate smile. "Although I do remember your younger days, I sometimes wondered if you really did inherit any of my brains."

I laughed. I remembered them all too well myself.

"I think we can safely say I am well past the stage when I would bait Ceberus into a fight."

He chuckled.

"Only because he figured a way to shut you up and keep you out of his way long enough to call me."

Now that wasn't true. "Dad, may I remind you that the last time I walked away from him, head held high, and he was the one whining to you after I beat the crap out of him." I pointed out.

"Yes but I also remember that he paid you back for it."

True. I had an ongoing vendetta with the bloody dog and yes, being immortal doesn't mean you don't hold grudges, it just means you have a lot more time to plot appropriate revenge. I got up and came around the desk to give him a hug.

"Thank you for trusting me in this dad." I told him honestly. I was proud as a peacock. "I won't let you down."

He gave me a hug back and kissed my cheek.

"You always make me proud, agapi mou."

I walked out of his office with a big stupid smile on my face. It was nice to hear those words from my own personal hero.

I caught up with Kassie and her father at the cafeteria in the research complex. They were having a late lunch. Food areas in the Underworld were very different to human ones. We had a bigger variety of creatures to feed, some fed on human grown food, some fed on daemon grown food and others had diets that were more exotic. It would most likely make a human puke or pass out of fear if you weren't used to it. I barely glanced around as I headed to their table.

"Master Oriax. How is your research?" I asked politely breaking into their conversation. "Can I join you?"

"Alessandra! It is good to see you." He said smiling at me. Master Oriax was another humanoid daemon; Kassie took after him in appearance, red hair and all. He wasn't very tall and he was quite lean, he looked like the scientist that he was. "Go and grab something to eat and then you can come and tell me what you have been up to since I have seen you last."

I did just that. I grabbed some lovely daemon vegetable salad. The daemon part was the actual vegetables that you could only find here, humans simply wouldn't be able to digest them or grow them for that matter. I also grabbed some water, normal water, and went back to the table to eat and socialise.

It was great to catch up. Master Oriax was one of my instructors when I was studying. He is an engaging teacher, because he had a passion for knowledge himself, he managed to transfer that to all his students. I told him about my travels and my current home, Kassie chipped in with some of the more embarrassing stories and we all had a lovely time.

It was getting closer to seven by the time we said our goodbyes and popped back home. I rang Cresil straight away.

"Where are you, darling?" I asked, flirting slightly.

"On my way to your house, open the shields for me please." He told me. I tapped into my shields and when I felt his presence let them open for him, he popped in front of me. We hang up our phones simultaneously. Cresil looked as good as I remembered. He was about half a head taller than I, and lighter skinned. He had short brown hair which he styled in small spikes. His athletic body was hugged by a dark green shirt and brown cargos with steel capped boots. His only daemonic trait was a pair of yellow eyes that looked more catlike than human. I looked sideways at Kassie. Hang on, is that a blush? I felt like purring.

"Kassie this is Cresil. Cresil meet my best friend Kassie." I said in a sing song voice. I wasn't pretending to be my cousin Cupid, but these two certainly had chemistry. Maybe I should give him a call? Later, I had enough on my plate at the moment.

Cresil gave Kassie a courtly bow, smooth and elegant despite his casual clothes.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kassie. I have heard so much about you." He said smiling appreciatively.

"Nice to meet you too." She replied, all sass. "I hope it was all good."

"Good and wicked." That rogue.

I decided to butt into this conversation before they got to the shedding their clothes part. I knew both of them well enough that it was inevitable with this amount of sexual tension on first sight.

"Ok, kiddies. You'll have plenty of time to flirt later." Kassie sent me a murderous look, Cresil chuckled. He had a pleasant deep chuckle. "I mean it." I tried for serious but failed and had to grin too. "I need to get ready and you two need to get to know each other somewhere else."

I turned to Cresil.

"You know what I expect. Please keep in mind Zagan is dangerous and probably won't send a lone daemon, if he does make a move." I said a little more seriously. He nodded. I gave them both hugs and shooed them out of my house.

I finally had a few minutes to myself. It was nice to be alone. As alone as I could be, but then I didn't really count Zi, he has always been with me. I made myself a cup of herbal tea and went outside onto the back veranda to watch the sun set.

I was putting final touches to my hair when I heard the intercom buzz. Who the hell was at my front gate? I wasn't expecting company. Sam knew I was working at Fangtasia tonight. He wasn't happy with it. He was a shifter after all, but I told him to suck it up and get over it. I went to the receiver to answer. Before I got a chance to ask I heard a familiar voice.

"It's Pam."

Direct much?

"Hey Pam. What are you doing here?" I was stumped. I couldn't figure out why Pam would be at my house if I was due at Fangtasia tonight.

"My master said to pick up his telepath. I'm picking up the telepath." She said in a bored voice. "You are ready?"

Of all the gall. Bossy, autocratic vampire!

"I have my own car." I said barely holding onto my temper. It wasn't her fault Eric was her master. "Last time I checked our contract did not include travel arrangements." I told her.

"I did not say I was happy to be the driver." She said there was an edge to her voice. "Open the gates."

I pushed the button with a little bit more force than necessary.

"Please do come in." I said, insincerely, sarcasm dripping from my every word. To be fair she was playing messenger and you know what they say about that, but sometimes it's just so hard to restrain yourself from killing them. Metaphorically speaking, Pam in fact was already very much dead.

I grabbed my purse and headed out of the door just as she drove up.

"Nice car." I told her, honestly appreciating her black Porsche. She gave me a nod in acknowledgment with an appreciative look at my outfit, she may have been pissed doing the dirty work for Eric but she did appreciate the goods she was delivering.

I wore a black corset with red panel inserts on the sides. It was finished with glittering sequins that shimmered in the headlights. The skirt was layered black tulle with red ribbing. It came fluffed out just past my bottom. I put on a pair of fishnet thigh highs underneath and finished it off with black pumps. I did my hair in a retro fashion, along with dark make-up and blood red lips; I looked every inch a burlesque queen. Pam seemed to agree from the way she smiled and gave me a show of fangs. From what I could see of her outfit and there wasn't much of it, it was something black and latex. She rocked it as usual.

"You look delicious my dear. Where did you get this lovely creation?" She told me, still smiling. Being compared to food by a vampire was as good a compliment as you are going to get.

"If I tell you I will have to stake you." I said with a straight face.

She laughed. It was a nice musical sound, so at odds with her personality. It made her look younger, if that were possible. Pam would have been turned before she hit twenty and she looked almost innocent when she laughed. Her laugh was full of too many wicked promises and her eyes heavy with knowledge to ever make her pass as a typical young woman.

I gave her a questioning look again. She sighed.

"You can take it up with Eric, I am following orders." She answered my unspoken question.

I groaned in acquiescence, and got in. I could always pop home.

"Mmm…delicious." She said as she inhaled me and I rolled my eyes as she sped out of my gate.

The drive to Shreveport was short. Eric filled Pam in on my origins and she was full of questions. It was very different to the Pam I had gotten to know before. Now that it was established that I wasn't human, I must have risen in her books to someone who was worthy of conversation. The fact that I was royalty made me more interesting, I think. Or maybe she just liked my fashion sense enough to warm up.

We made it to the bar in less than twenty minutes, normal people would take twice as long, but Pam was excited to show off her car to me. I made a mental note to try and beat her time.

Fangtasia was already in full swing when we walked in. Every eye in the place turned towards us. I was vain enough to accept the silent compliments as we paused in the entrance. I heard Pam chuckle quietly next to me and I followed her eyes to see what was so amusing. It was Eric. Sitting in the corner booth and looking hot enough to melt ice. His hair was out again and he was wearing a blood red shirt, silk, with black jeans, tight, which looked incredible on him. He was watching the show of our adoration with a hint of amusement on his face. Then our eyes met and I felt heat spread all over my body. I heard another, louder chuckle from beside me, but I couldn't look away from those blue eyes. There were some sinful promises there that I was starting to hope he would fulfil. Soon.

When I tore my eyes away from the sexy Viking I took in the scene around me, greeting the few vampires I knew. Longshadow was working behind the bar tonight and he gave me a provocative wink and fang. I got a smile from Bill Compton who must be here on vermin duty and I noticed another couple of vampires. I also noticed some of the humans taking an interest in me, obviously unsure if I was a vampire or maybe simply curious as to why I was getting all the undead attention. When I looked back at Eric again I made sure there was enough heat in my eyes to let him know I saw what I liked in front of me as well. I might not be happy with his high-handiness but my libido was very happy to see him.

I walked slowly, deliberately sashaying my hips for his benefit.

His fangs ran out all the way down and I could feel him undressing me with his eyes.

"You are simply ravishing." He said, as always his voice made me shiver.

I smiled.

"While you are insufferably autocratic, Eric." I countered back. He did not look even slightly apologetic.

"I am."

I didn't dignify that with another reply. It was wasted energy to argue with this vampire. I slid into the booth, opposite him.

A waitress came up to take my order and I looked up at her and smiled. I could pick up from her brain that she was new and slightly flustered to be looking after the Master's table tonight. I tried to put her at ease.

"I'd like a glass of your house red, please." I said as politely and as friendly as I could manage.

"Tell Longshadow to bring out one from the back." He said to her without taking his eyes off me. "I have a few business meetings scheduled for later tonight. I would appreciate your…insight." He said, without explaining his earlier comment. I figured I'd find out soon enough, what wine he had ordered.

"Is it business that can be discussed in the bar?" I asked curious, since I was trying to stay in crowded areas. Eric and I alone was a volatile situation which would probably end up in no actual business being done. Maybe some very pleasant business, but not the one he was referring to right now.

Eric seemed to follow my line of thinking because I saw him smirk at me knowingly.

"Yes." He said. "It wouldn't be a problem."

"Good." I said, and couldn't quite hide the relief from my voice. His smirk only widened.

"It would make things appear more natural if you act the part of my lover for the duration." I raised an eyebrow trying to fight off my body's reaction to his words. I heard his quiet chuckle before continuing. "It would be a good reason for you to sit in on the meetings. Besides, it would help explain your presence next to me in the future."  
I never really thought of that. He had a good point.

"Lover?" I almost whined. I knew he was right, but I wasn't happy about it. Keeping things professional between us when I had to act like I wanted him would just make it that much harder to suppress the wanting. I was trying so hard to be good. I was also failing spectacularly.

My wine arrived at that moment and I took a sip. When the flavour hit my mouth, I closed my eyes and made a noise of appreciation. It was a truly beautiful vintage, almost as delicious as daemon wine.

"I take it you like my selection." He said and his voice slightly huskier than before.

I opened my eyes taking in the lust in his blue ones.

"It's lovely. Thank you." I told him. "French?"

"Yes, I lived there before I migrated to the New World. I still own a couple of vineyards in the south of France. I was told this was a particularly good vintage."

"Yes, I'd have to agree. It's lovely." I said. "Although, the idea of appearing to be your lover might not be as lovely for you, because if I were to appear as such, you would lose some of your fanbase." I waved in the direction of the fangbangers who were currently thinking of creative ways to murder and torture me, not necessarily in that order. "They aren't happy with me now and you want me to hang on you. I could only imagine the hate club I'd accumulate if I was with you on regular basis."

"It is of no importance. You are going to save me more money than I will lose due to your presence." I couldn't argue with his logic. "Besides, it is only a matter of time before you yield."

He said this so matter of fact, like it was a proven fact. I felt my rebellious side rise up in challenge, no matter if he was in actuality right, now I will put up a fight since he'd issued a direct challenge.

"You clearly have an overblown sense of ego, Eric." I said, taking another sip of wine. He looked like he was humouring a child who was having a tantrum. In the back of my mind I knew he was right. The tension between us was leading only one way, but I wasn't going to go easy on him.

Pam came up just then to announce in her bored voice that the first appointment was here. Eric motioned for me to slide closer to him. I gritted my teeth, at the command, but slid over. He leaned back and put his arm around me, pulling me flush against his side. My awareness narrowed to the places our bodies touched. His other hand went to my face. He gently lifted my chin up until I was looking him in the eyes.

"I didn't say hello properly, lover." He whispered and closed the distance between our lips. His lips were surprisingly soft and gentle on mine tentatively exploring my mouth seeking permission instead of just claiming, almost as though he was asking for permission and I made sure he was aware that he was welcome. It was a delicate kiss, both of us savouring the sensation of being close to each other without having to come up with an excuse or fighting against it. I traced his fangs lightly with my tongue enjoying how his body tensed next to me as he tried to control himself. My hands found their way up to his neck and I slowly massaged the back of his head in encouragement. I think I forgot to breathe. When he broke contact, hovering just out of reach, I couldn't help but moan. It took me a few seconds to come back to myself again, everything that was in me was screaming to get us out of here and somewhere where we could release the tension in both our bodies. When I did once again become more aware of my surroundings, I noticed two men standing next to our table. Their faces politely averted and from the tension in their bodies it was obvious that neither were sure how to react to our little display, I didn't need to scan their brains to know that my plea for innocence will get knocked back.

_Next time you decide to not dry fuck the Viking do let me know so I have time to disengage from your brain. _Zi's dry tones wafted through my still hazy head. _Not that I begrudge the fun mind you, I don't however want to really know all the details of what you want him to do to you and Gods forbid what he'd let you do to him. _

I snickered, completely confusing everyone around me and getting a raised eyebrow from Eric. I mouthed Zi and Eric's eyes lit up with curiosity and amusement. He looked sexy as sin, not that this fact has ever left my mind since I met him but right now I was having trouble keeping my head on business.

Eric made the introductions and I greeted them politely, playing up the part of arm candy, making sure my face was vacant of anything remotely resembling intelligence, sad to say they fell for it. They were here to negotiate the delivery and advertising of a new line of cocktails and it was hardly titillating conversation. I opened up to scan the bar and had to fight not to show my disdain on my face. The thoughts swirling in the brains around me were a mixture of horror and sexual fantasies and I was amused to find just how vivid some of their imaginations were. Trying to tune out the harmless if somewhat disturbing images I listened while trying to pay attention to the conversation next to me.

Half an hour later I was bored. Leaning towards Eric I whispered.

"Darling, they can drop their prices another 5%." I said with my mouth hovering over his ear. "Now move so I can get out." My hand slid up and down his thigh in encouragement.

He caught my hand in his and kissed my fingers before getting up to let me out of the cubicle. I slid out straightening up my skirt as I rose, making sure to give the two men in the cubicle a peek at my thigh highs before making my excuses and heading towards the bathroom. I felt the heat of Eric's eyes follow my every movement until the crowd swallowed me.

I was touching up my lipstick when I heard them. Some people broadcasted louder than others, almost like mental shouting. That was one of the main reasons I kept my shields up as much as I could when out in public, but I was working so I heard them very clearly.

_I need some V tonight… Fuck it hurts… V... V… V... That dead bitch seems to be looking my way… I can lure her outside... The others are waiting nearby…God I fucking need a hit right now…._

The thoughts were broken, somewhat erratic and totally crazy. Junkies were like that. I didn't know the actual vampire that they were targeting but from their thoughts I saw the angle they could see her from. Stepping unobtrusively back into the club I watched. It didn't take long. The guy was sitting at a table nearby. He was with his buddy, neither dressed to fit the atmosphere not that it mattered since they would have stood out no matter their clothes. Skinny with almost grey coloured skin they looked unhealthy, dying. Sweat gathered on their foreheads from the cravings I felt almost physically broadcasting off of them. Both were drainers. From what I saw in their heads, they had done this before and had two more guys waiting outside near a van. I let my lips curl slightly in disgust. I hated pathetic creatures such as these.

The vampire they were watching was young. She looked like she was turned somewhere in her early twenties, but that wasn't the reason I thought her young. She felt young. I couldn't describe it better than that. I have been taught how to gauge a person's strengths and weaknesses in just one look, it was a handy skill to have in a court full of plots against you. The vampire was dressed in uniform black. A simple silk dress, no doubt bought for her by someone else, probably Pam. She looked too uncomfortable in it for it to have been her idea. Her hair was loosely styled back. It was long and teased up at the top and the obviously died reddish black locks sprayed with enough hairspray that I could see it glisten from all the way here, amateur. Her eyes were checking out the food, but I could tell she was looking for something easy which made me think that she wasn't exactly comfortable with glamouring. In vampire years I'd put her in the under ten and I was pretty sure I was being generous in that assessment.

I couldn't see Pam anywhere in the club and when I scanned the brains of the humans still stuck in the line outside she wasn't in their mind, some other vamp was on the door. I figured she was in her office so I headed in that direction. Eric watched my progress towards him, no doubt thinking I was coming back to join him, I shook my head slightly and tilted it towards the staff only door. He gave me a small nod and went back to negotiations.

I was right. Pam was in her office and in the middle of dinner. She had a pretty little brunette on her table, and was happily busy in between her legs while the brunette moaned out her appreciations. This was more than I wanted to know about Pam and her feeding habits but obviously Pam had no idea what privacy meant. I had little if any modesty issues, we get raised differently at court, the whole Christian view of sex being the cause of all evil is considered blasphemy. Sexuality is a very open and acknowledged part of our culture in both Underworld and Fae courts and while I never really did swing towards females, I did appreciate them from afar. Her door was open and anyone could have seen what she was up to, or in her case down I guess. After clearing my throat got absolutely zero response from either party, I knocked on the frame.

"I am busy." She said, without raising her head. The girl wiggled in pleasure at whatever Pam was doing to her, I was very thankful that in that moment my view was blocked by Pam's head. Thankful, yes, and yet somewhat curious.

"Pam. I realise you are…having a snack, but I am afraid this won't wait. I need to speak to you." I said to her. When she didn't move away I added. "Now!"

She whipped her head and glared at me. Fangs bare and her mouth covered with blood past her I had a clear vision of her dinner. I got a glare for my troubles, my guess was she expected me to be intimidated.

"I'll wait for you to clean up." I told her, politely looking the other way.

She was efficient. Not even a minute later the brunette stumbled past me, giving me a glare. I guess she wasn't too happy with my interruption. I didn't give a shit. I looked back into the office, Pam was wiping her face with a napkin.

"What is so important that you had to interrupt my dinner?" She all but growled at me. I guess I deserved that.

"You have a slight problem in the bar." I said completely ignoring her shitty mood, I switched to Italian because while the girl was obviously still on a high from Pam's attentions, I didn't want her hearing things that she didn't need to know. "There are a couple of drainers inside, they are looking for a victim tonight. Their backup is waiting by a van around the corner. I thought you might enjoy taking care of them personally."

I had her attention now.

"Show me." She hissed and I watched the mock angry look she gave me transform into something I could almost be scared of, I wouldn't want Pam angry with me, ever. I almost felt sorry for the idiots. Almost. I knew they have drained at least ten vampires on their journey from Dallas. Vampires might be killers, it was in their blood after all and most vampires did it out of necessity but these humans did it for kicks.

I waited as Pam quickly cleaned up her face, not that she wasted much of the blood but there were other messes present and sent off the well tipped girl away. We walked out in to the bar together; both of the tables were empty. Fucking peachy!

"Shit. Let's go." I told her, already moving towards the front entrance not waiting to see if she'd follow. She was beside me in a flash and I could feel her anger scenting the air with a spicy scent.

We ran out the front door and straight towards the place where I saw the van parked in my mind. The spot they picked was in a side alley working with a dark and isolated location provided extra cover from unwanted witnesses. It worked in our favour since I knew that the end result of our little talk won't be pretty and will most likely end up work for the cleaning crew, I assumed vampires had one just like daemons. I briefly wondered if they were undead or just simply very well paid and glamoured. I dipped into the minds of the soon to be dead drainers and saw what I hoped to avoid. The vampire was already wrapped in silver with a fucking needle in her arm.

I gave Pam a look as we rounded the last corner to let her know I was going to do the talking, she nodded albeit reluctantly. She knew, like me, that our game would be up far too quickly if she opened her mouth and showed fangs. She looked pissed but I didn't care as long as she followed my lead on this. We slowed down as we saw the van, walking up at more or less human speed. I tried to rearrange my face in a more or less innocent expression hoping my inner loathing didn't shine in my eyes.

"Hey there guys. What are you doing to the vamp?" I asked in my best 'I am harmless' voice. The two from the bar whipped their heads our way while the others were still busy holding onto the vampire. Pam was mostly in the shadow, so it was hard to recognise her, I was pretty sure her fangs were at the point where no amount of lip would cover them.

"Nothing that's any of your business." One of the guys from the bar said. "Why don't you two pretties run along and forget all about this." He made a few steps our way, trying to frighten us off his eyes shined with glee at the prospect of a forthcoming end to his agony. How I was going to enjoy ruining his night!

I stopped a few feet away from him and put my hands on my hips.

"Oh. I don't think that's going to be possible." I said with a smile that was suddenly anything but nice. "You see, that over there," I pointed to the struggling vampire. "Is a friend of mine, and I couldn't possibly leave her here seeing as you don't play nice." My tone was reasonable, but I doubt my expression was, he started to sneer at me. I guess he didn't count us as a big threat. His mistake.

"Let her go now." Pam growled from behind me as she stalked out of the shadows letting them see who and what she was.

His eyes moved to her, and when she stepped into the light all colour drained out of his face, taking the cocky expression away with it.

"Shit. Guys.." That was all he was able to get out before Pam was on him and ripping into his throat.

I quickly moved forward, Zi leaping off my arm midst ride and before Pam finished draining the idiot we had the other three backed into a corner. I went back to the van, trusting that Zionos' presence was enough to keep the others pacified while I dealt with the situation then gently I peeled off the silver watching the steam come out of the ragged open wounds on her skin. The poor thing hissed in pain but she was weak, they had already managed to drain enough of her blood to keep her from jumping on me as I freed her. Pam came over after her prey lost consciousness and watched my efforts from a safe distance away from the silver I was handling. The poor girl's dress was ruined. It was ripped in places where they were going to take advantage of her in other ways while they drained her dry. I saw red for a bit before I breathed away my fury to a manageable level.

"Pam she needs to feed, but in her condition I doubt she'll be able to stop before killing someone and while I'm all for killing these idiots there might be a better solution. Could you send them to Dallas?" I said to her eyeing the young vampire cautiously.

"Why would I want to do that?" I heard bloodlust in her voice, I really wanted to see her face but I didn't want to take my attention away from the injured vampire.

"Because it would gain you a favour from who ever runs things there. They were the cause of death for more than half a dozen vampires there and I think the Sheriff would be very pleased if we returned them." I pointed out reasonably. I was nothing if not practical and while I would have loved to see them drained on the spot, it seemed a little anticlimactic for my taste. I am bloodthirsty as a vampire when it came to certain things, and I knew what they have done to their previous victims. What they intended to do to the vampire in front of me. I shuddered. I hated knowing sometimes.

I risked taking a peek at Pam, noticing her visible efforts at trying to dampen her bloodlust. The young vampire hissed at me and tensed waiting to see if I needed to restrain her.

"If you can control yourself enough not to drain them to death, you can drink from all three remaining and heal" I told her then waited for her to process my offer. She finally gave me a jerky nod.

I looked back at Pam again, she was coherent now, and nodded her agreement as well. We supervised the meal, watching as the injured girl drained the men just enough for them to loose consciousness. I had to pull her off the first one since her wounds were bad enough that she lost her control almost killing the idiot.

_That wasn't nearly as much fun as it could have been._ Zi grumbled at me. He was sitting next to me observing the proceedings his feline face a complete picture of total disappointment at the lack of any confrontations. I scratched his ear affectionately. It was my way of saying thank you.

"It never is with scumbags like these, Zi. They are always brainless idiots thinking themselves invincible as they pick on those smaller and weaker but as soon as some healthy competition comes along they turn tail." I told him. The fact that in this case the smaller and weaker wasn't technically a true representation it didn't matter.

I saw Pam glance our way, she must be wondering who I was talking to and I nodded at Zi with a small smile playing on my lips. She eyed him with interest for a bit, but had to put her attention back to the young vampire who was still feeding.

Once we dumped the four unconscious humans into the back of the van, Pam pulled out a phone and ordered clean up. They would be unconscious for a few hours still and we needed to report all this to Eric.

Zi shimmered back onto me and we headed back to the bar taking a detour to walk through the back door, so as not to frighten the customers.

"Thank you for saving me." I heard a small voice from beside me and it startled me a little because the young vampire had been so quiet the whole time. Her voice sounded vulnerable enough to firmly peg her in the toddler vampire stage, they learned how to hide behind the cool veneer better as they matured.

"You're welcome." I said honestly.

"My name is Jordan and if you need anything in the future… I'm in your debt." She said obviously floundering at the proper words in situations such as this one. I nodded in acknowledgment with a polite smile on my face, my way of letting her know I get it and she didn't need to embarrass herself further.

"Why is she thanking you, Lover?" Eric's voice said next to me and I jumped. Jordan looked up at him her eyes showing fear again. We were too busy talking to each other to notice that Eric was in his office.

Eric was standing in half way to the door with his arms folded in front of his chest, looking curious and slightly amused. I looked back at Pam and Jordan, both covered in blood and I quickly looked down making sure I was clean, luckily I managed to avoid disaster; my outfit was still blood free. I was too busy making sure I didn't somehow miss a spot and I didn't see Eric come up to stand in front of me. When I looked up he was very close and I felt his proximity like a thick layer of sensual mist settling over my skin.

"Jordan's new acquaintances weren't very friendly. Pam and I made sure they didn't bother her or anyone else again." I said keeping my expression mild. He raised an eyebrow.

"Drainers." Well trust Pam to ruin my fun. I had front row seats as I watched Eric's expression turn thunderous and I swear his eyes had lightning in them.

"Pam. Clean up and join us. Jordan please clean up as well. Pam will give you clothes to change into. You can wait in the other office after you're done." He motioned for me to walk inside. My mind flashed back to my earlier reasons for avoiding this room, but looking at his angry face I realised seduction was the last thing on his agenda. We sat down, him in his chair behind the desk me in one of the chairs opposite. I started talking before the silence became charged.

"I heard their thoughts and went to get Pam in view of the fact that you were still busy. We were a little late seeing as I interrupted her dinner." I said, beginning my explanation. "By the time we reached them, they started draining Jordan already and were going to violate her further if we didn't interfere."

"Are they dead?" He asked. His voice low and lethal, in that moment I had a clear vision of the vampire that was Sheriff of Area 5 and not the sensual man I have seen this far.

"No." I said.

He waited for me to continue just when Pam walked in. She cleaned up and changed very quickly. I didn't think she'd had time for a shower and sniffing lightly I could still pick up traces of fresh blood around her.

"Alessandra had a wonderful idea of keeping them alive and sending them as a present to the Sheriff in Dallas." She said as she sat next to me. "I understand this was not their first victim."

Both looked at me waiting for further explanation.

"They came from Dallas and I read that they've drained around ten vamps in the area and on their way here." I said my voice even to cover up my anger at the situation and keep the vampires in front of me from overreacting. I didn't get into the details for exactly the same reasons, the vampires that they'd drained were all women and what almost happened to Jordan did happen to the others. I was right and the air around me filled with violent growls coming from both vampires.

Vampires may kill each other, but very rarely did they allow others to do this. This was a direct result of their coming out a few years ago. Most of the perks of being out were great but I knew that they didn't appreciate their new status of number one source of recreational drugs. V had become popular. "I thought you might appreciate the chance to have another sheriff owe you." I said reasonably, looking at Eric.

He considered this for a minute.

"Yes. Stan Davies should be made aware of this. I think I like him owing me a favour." He said thoughtfully. "What did you do with them?"

"The three that were left alive were Jordan's snacks and are now unconscious in the back of their van. They'll stay that way for a few hours." Pam told him, her bored voice was back. "I already called clean up for the rest."

"Good. It's too late to drive them to Dallas tonight. Move them to a safer location and assign someone to drive them to Dallas tomorrow night. I'll call Stan later." He told her and she got up to follow orders. He looked back at me and I saw the coldness in his eyes melt away as they settled on me. "Now, Alessandra, it would seem I owe you a life."

Ah, yes. I cocked my head to the side considering the situation.

"I was doing the job you hired me for; consider this an act of good faith." I said, dismissing his offer. I liked knowing he would owe me, but I liked knowing he could trust me more. He knew what I was doing. He has been playing politics for much longer than I have and there I watched a flash of appreciation pass over his face.

"Very well. I have another meeting tonight and I'll need to make a phone call to Dallas." He said as a hungry smile spread on his face making me realise business was over and he was back to playing his games. I had to get out of there while I still could, there was no way I'd have enough willpower if he was on my side of the desk. I quickly rose and made my way to the door, before he could stop me.

"I'll see you in the bar then." I called over my shoulder. I heard his sexy chuckle as I hurried away. He knew why I was running.

The rest of the night passed in uneventful boredom. Eric joined me after he talked to Stan, Sheriff of Area 6 in Texas, who was looking forward to receiving his present.

The second meeting was short. Something to do with a vampire getting permission for a new business, I wasn't paying close attention, since I wouldn't be of any help.

Pam came to sit with us at one point and we talked shoes. Eric seemed amused at our camaraderie. If I had to guess, I would have to say Pam didn't warm up to many people. That made me feel all fuzzy inside, Pam had a sense of humour, that was absent in most vampires I've met. Most of her jokes would make a human run screaming in fear, but I appreciated her warped humour. Her presence at our table also kept Eric from making any moves on me and I think she enjoyed putting a wedge in his plans. I wholeheartedly approved.

By the time we finished discussing most of the new stock at Sacks it was one in the morning and the bar was slowing down.

"I think it's time for me to go home, I doubt you need me for the last hour." I told them. I had a long day, and was more than ready for some sleep knowing I'd still need to stop by my apartment and talk party plans with Killara. My head was achy and I was more than ready to put my shields back up to drown out the useless prattle of worshipping vermin. The nickname started to grow on me the more time I spent listening in on them.

"I'll drive you." Eric said to me with a confident smirk on his face. I smiled at him this was exactly the reason he had Pam pick me up earlier.

"That's fine, Pam can take me home. I'm sure you have other business to attend to." I said, playing at innocent.

"I would be glad to drive you home, Lexie. I would love to see what other dresses you have hidden in your wardrobe. Not to mention all those shoes." Pam voice purred next to me as she joined in on the game or maybe simply at the thought that I might model some of my clothes for her benefit.

"Pam, you'll lock up the bar. I'm sure there is still some paperwork that you need to do." He said daggers in his eyes. She bowed her head in obedience, but the smirk didn't leave her face. I had a feeling she knew I had something up my sleeve and she knew she was going to enjoy it.

I leaned over the table, making sure he had a full view of my assets which in this position were practically spilling out in front of him. Our eyes were on the same level when he looked up and I closed the distance between us letting my breath caress his skin, enjoying the darkness of lust bleeding into his eyes.

"I can look after myself. I know how busy you are so no need to worry on my account." I told him as my smile turned predatory and before he could do anything I moved back, quickly scooting over to Pam, gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. "Thank you for driving me here, Pam. I had a fun night." I told her and she smiled at me, wicked. When I turned back to Eric, he looked slightly confused but still confident that he was going to get what he wanted. When the wicked smile spread on my face finally registered with him, his face started to lose some confidence.

"Eric, if you wanted to take me home you should have asked first not sent Pam so I wouldn't have the option to refuse." I said gaining a note of steel in my voice. "I don't heel very well" I heard Pam's delighted laughter as I popped back home. I was still chuckling as I got materialized in my wardrobe from the shocked expression on Eric's beautiful face.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for the reviews! I love you guys for loving Lexie! **

**Huge thank you to ElenaM for her unfailing support and encouragement, she's awesome! **

**Another massive chapter…enjoy…**

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It was close to three in the morning by the time I got back from my meeting with Killira. She did have most of the reception organized but I still needed to go over the details and approve everything. There are a lot of things to approve of when you plan an event for over five hundred people. The evening was balmy and my wild strawberry tea soothed me as I sat on my porch staring out into the night and enjoying the quiet, undemanding moment in my otherwise hectic life. Zionos stretched out under my feet acting as a rather reluctant foot stool. The reluctance was mostly for show since he considered it beneath him to admit he enjoyed when I scratched his belly gently with my toes.

My phone started to play a familiar tune next to me. I sighed. So much for quiet time.

"Hey, sexiness! How was your night?" Kassie said as I picked up the call. The musical lilt of her voice alerted me to the fact that her new bodyguard was taking very good care of her.

"Engaging. How is your shadow?" I asked.

"You did good." That was her way of saying thank you. There was a small amount of satisfaction to be found in this pile of trouble after all.

"I got to save a vampire tonight." I told her. Naturally she wanted to know what happened, so I obliged and spilled all the details. I also bragged playing Eric and from the crashing noise on the other side of the line I'm pretty sure she fell off laughing her ass off.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" She asked. There were shuffling noises in the background.

"I've got a reception to finish and maybe host. Check in for an update. Feel like partying tomorrow?" I asked. After everything that's happened lately I needed to let out some steam.

"You're on! We still have to discover your local hang outs." She said with a smile.

"I'll do my research this time." I said chuckling.

We said our goodbyes and hung up.

I was still sitting on my porch five minutes later, too restless to sleep and not sure what to do with myself. The confrontation earlier gave me an adrenaline rush and my mind was racing with all the shit that was currently on my plate.

_Clearing?_

Zi said as he gave my bare leg a lick. What a fucking brilliant idea! It was a clear night, the moon was out and everything was bathed in its cool silvery light, perfect for some night-time fun.

I brought my legs down onto solid ground as I stretched out to give his head an affectionate pat. He usually knew what I wanted, even before I did.

I changed into a sports tank and black little bike shorts. Put my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck. I called Lilliane as I walked out into the forest.

The clearing was serene in the moonlight and exactly the place I needed to be while trying to calm myself. It was a large levelled space in the middle of my forest, the trees made a natural circular barrier almost like a fence and the soft grass under my feet was kept short due to some naturally phenomenal luck. The conditions couldn't get better if I was in an actual training arena. I came down here in the cooler months. This was my first summer here and I found out quickly that practising outside during the day was the best way to find out exactly how much your body could sweat out to make you stink as if you've never showered in your entire life. The grass was soft and slightly moist under me as I sat down to focus. I meditated while Lilliane hummed, resting in my lap. I listened to the sound of the night's voice around me, the gentle breeze in the leaves above me, the night creatures scurrying around the place, no doubt sensing a large predatory animal nearby and my own body as I breathed and let my heart beat to the undeniably strong pulse of the life around me. I grew up surrounded by death and sometimes it was easy to forget how precious life was when you've seen what I have. This was my way of reminding me that I wasn't only a child of Hell. My fairy nature tied me to the living earth in a way nothing else could.

I slowly rose and unsheathed Lilliane. The blade sang her exquisite lethal song as she came out of the sheath. She glowed blue in the night, the power put into her during her forging shinning through, and the runes on the blade glittering in the light.

I began to weave an intricate pattern around the clearing with Lilliane's song echoing in the forest around me, both of us dancing in perfect harmony.

A scratchy wet tongue on my foot was, really, not the most pleasant way to wake up.

I blindly kicked out, knowing Zi would move before I could even hit him.

"Go away," I groaned.

_Get up. Sam called. He needs you to fill in_.

Damn it. I am getting another answering machine, one that Zi couldn't listen to while the message was being recorded. Sam called the house phone knowing that Zi would come and find me.

I peeked at the clock on my bedside table; it was nine thirty, leaving me with a total of three hours of sleep. Peachy keen. I let my head fall back down as another groan slipped out of my throat.

"Zi, why can't you have a more useful skill than listening in on my calls?" It was a rhetorical question of course. He did have a useful skill of protecting my backside when I needed it and I was really starting to question its usefulness if he kept up with this crap. Five times in less than two months! Gods, I was ready to make him into a rug.

_You don't need the sleep anyway, Lexie. You've become spoilt since we moved here._

All true. It didn't matter. I liked my sleep, even if I didn't technically need it. I did however enjoy it and he knew it.

"What time does he want me in?" I asked, trying to figure out if I had more snooze left for me. Not that it mattered since I was awake and fast losing the pleasant feel of grogginess that would have helped me slip back into the fun dream I was having involving Eric and a rather large bathtub. I haven't seen Eric naked but what my subconsciousness provided me with as an alternative left my pillow wet with drool.

_Eleven, that's why I woke you, _Zi sounded extremely smug, probably since he knew he was getting his way. He liked my shifter boss way too much, the little turncoat.

I rolled out of bed and went to take a shower. I listened to the message while I waited for my magical energy drink. Coffee in hand I called Sam back to confirm I'll be coming in. He sounded very relieved.

I had my coffee while I got dressed. The uniform was simple, white shirt with the bar logo on one side and black shorts. I put on my sneakers, I was going to be running around the bar, and I might as well be comfortable while doing it.

When I got to Merlotte's, it was still early. I parked around the back and went to knock on Sam's trailer door. He lived behind the bar cutting down his work commute to two seconds and ten steps.

"Hey Sam! You there?" I called out.

"Lexie! Is that you?" I heard his muffled voice from inside. "Hang on a sec."

I settled into the patio chair next to the door to wait for him. Sam came outside in a couple of minutes. He wasn't a tall man, maybe a little taller than me. He had curly red hair, and nice brown eyes. The short height didn't make you overlook the fact that under his usual assortment of t-shirts his upper body was muscled very nicely. His hair was still wet from the recent shower, and he was dressed casual in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He was also a gentleman and fast becoming a good friend. If only I saw him in a different light, things could have been better. Then again, he wouldn't be around forever and I had a kingdom to help run, rogues to chase down and political agendas to overthrow. My world held no place for a nice guy like Sam.

"Zi woke me up when he heard your call," I said with mock severity.

"Oh. Sorry Lexie. Did you have a late one last night?" He looked rueful. "You don't mind filling in, right?"

"I am here, aren't I. Relax, I don't mind," I reassured him. "And I had a late one, but that's fine. I don't really need much sleep. You have enough staff for tonight, right?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine tonight," he told me. "Come on, you can help me open up while I may you a killer coffee to make up for your missed sleep."

I rose and followed him to the back door of the bar pleased by the prospect of having another cup of my favourite drug.

We opened up the bar and I sat watching Sam make me his awesome version of a coffee, complete with caramel syrup. Yum!

"How are things going with the new job?" He asked. I knew he was curious. I may not be able to read his mind easily, but I sure could read his emotions.

"Just fine, Sam. I get to dress up and sit around in a bar listening in on people. It isn't rocket science." I said with a shrug. I knew he wanted to know if I was ok with the vamps, but frankly that was none of his business. Besides, I wasn't sure how to answer that. I didn't know if I was okay with Eric. He confused the hell out of me. "I rescued a young vampire from some drainers last night."

He looked impressed and worried. I told him what happened.

"Lexie, you be careful with them. I know they seem ok, and you can take care of yourself. But I still worry about you." He said. It felt kind of nice to know someone worried about me. Besides my dad and Kass that is.

"No worries Sam." I told him with a bright smile. Then I remembered Zagan and my smile slipped off. "Hey, have you had any strange people coming around the bar asking about me lately?" I didn't want to say supes, since the rest of the staff started to drift in. Sam caught onto my meaning and his eyebrows drew together, now he looked worried all over again.

"No. We haven't seen any new faces since vampire Bill came. He has been a couple of other times as well; I think he was looking for you. Should I be on the lookout for someone?" He asked.

I thought about telling Sam, and then decided he didn't really need another reason to worry about me.

"Just keep an eye out for me and let me know if someone comes in who smells funny." I said trying to make it sound lighter than it was. "And if anyone asks about me, don't tell them anything. Call me about it though."

I saw he wanted to ask more, but we ran out of gossip time and I had to prep my tables.

It was a busy shift. A good thing for me as I carefully avoided spending any more time near Sam, I could tell by the way he watched me he wasn't finished with his questioning. We had most of the regular crowd with a few others drifting in since it was Saturday. I worked hard and it helped me take my mind off the two glaring problems in my life. I finished at six, a little later than usual since my replacement came in late. After dumping my apron in the washing basket I went to Sam's office, where we stowed our bags, grabbed my stuff and headed out the front to say bye.

Sam was busy at the bar so I just waved and he gave me an apologetic smile.

Mine was genuine relief that we didn't get a chance to talk more before I headed home.

When I got back to the house, I made dinner and turned on my laptop.

I was _not_ going to have any surprises about our destination tonight. I made a couple of sandwiches for dinner, lacking any interest, or energy, in creating something more complex.

Kassie sent me a message during the day saying they were going to come over after eight and by the time I found a decent club and ate it was after seven, which gave me very little time to get myself looking fabulous.

Showering for the second time, I quickly went through my closet to figure out what to wear tonight. I was tired of black and Goth look, so I picked something that was a complete opposite. Simple white silk singlet that had gorgeous large magenta magnolias printed on the front and a pair of denim three quarter pants. My favourite tan wedges hugged my feet lovingly, I wanted to be comfortable tonight and just have fun. I pined my hair up in a loose knot and left a few strands out around the face. Mascara and some perfume; I was ready.

"Where are we going tonight?" Kassie's voice came from the other room. I felt her presence when she hit my shields but decided to finish getting ready before coming out to say hello. Cresil was a few seconds behind her.

"It's a surprise," I called out from the bedroom. I needed something else, I was looking at myself in the full length mirror and I felt something was missing.

The door flew open as Kassie barged in and bounced over to kiss my cheek.

"You look very pretty, darl," she said as she pulled something from behind her back, it was a beautiful pink rose, which she proceeded to pin on the side of my knot.

"There, perfect," She said when she was finished.

"Thank you," I said knowing she was right and I now felt like my outfit was complete. Kassie was funny like that. She had this quirky sixth sense about some things. Very random things, but always very spot on. She could probably win the lotto every second time and it was a good thing she had money, otherwise I'd be spending an awful lot of time trying to make sure she didn't end up on the wrong side of human law.

When we came back into the living room Cresil was lounging on one of my couches. I had two; they were beautiful dark brown leather and sat on either side of the fireplace. The leather on them was so soft and smooth it felt sinful against your skin. He looked sexy in a black silk shirt, unbuttoned half way, which was complimented by a tight pair of blue jeans. That usually makes guys look seedy, like those weird sleazy types you meet in clubs. The ones that think they are a god's gift to women and try and fuck just about anything that resembles a female. Cresil could pull it off though. His hair was styled back in a slick look and he looked incredibly sexy stretched out on the couch. I noticed Kassie's eyes get a little twinkle in them when she looked at him and hoped they'd be able to keep their hands off each other long enough for me to have some fun on the dance floor.

"Ladies, I am one lucky man to have such dazzling companions tonight," he said in a purring voice before spoiling the sensual image with a grimace. "I have to tell you Lexie, it took me a _very_ long time to track down that damn flower. She made me return about a dozen times before she was satisfied it was the right colour."

He didn't look too bothered by it and I knew the whining was for my benefit and to get a rise out of Kassie. She looked completely unconcerned.

"It does look good though." She retorted. Sticking her tongue out at him, like a little spoilt brat.

Cresil gave me an assessing look. It was a look that told you in no uncertain terms, he knew his way around a woman's body. It didn't do a thing for me, that's probably why we were friends though.

"Yes, she looks lovely tonight, as you assured me she would." He said with a sexy smile. He rose off the couch in a liquid movement before offering both his arms to us. "I am going to be the envy of every man tonight. A situation I will enjoy immensely. Shall we ladies?"

The place I picked was a little quirky salsa club. The atmosphere was fun but relaxed with its modern interior and open balcony overlooking the river. When we walked in, the band was playing a fast salsa and people were already having a blast on the dance floor. I was tingling in anticipation and my body was half swaying to the rhythmic music as it tried to let me know it wanted to boogie along with the carefree crowd in here.

"Can you see Claudine?" I shouted to Kassie over the music. She made a face at me but started looking around. Kassie never did join the fairy fan club, she heard too many stories from my winters spent in Fae to believe in all the glitter and goodness they tried to host on everyone.

Believe me, it wasn't my idea of a fun holiday. I had no choice in the matter once Persephone found out about me. I was still a baby at the time, but I heard the story from others and from what I heard, it was all kinds of nasty. I've also heard why I didn't have a single sibling, why my dad has kept me well protected while I was little and why I was never ever at court at the same time as my step-mother.

So I was to live with my mother for three months every year; for my own continued good health. It wasn't bad exactly, quite the opposite really, they were just too freaking nice, on the surface at least, the bitchiness came out later when I grew up a little, they like babies you see.

Claudine was probably the only one who was ever sincerely kind to me, but by the time I had gotten to know her better I was already too jaded to trust a fairy completely and Claudine was, unfortunately, completely under my uncle's thumb.

I spied her sitting at the bar; she was smiling and waving at me. She must have seen us come in and I waved back before heading over to say hi, hoping Kassie and Cresil followed. I noticed the sexy muscle next to her; I wasn't the only one staring at him appreciatively as the rest of the women in this place seemed to throw sideways glances directed at him, some even staring outright. Claude was striking, in the romance novel cover kind of way. His long silky hair, chiselled face and sculpted body would make Adonis weep tears of jealousy. You had to appreciate all that perfect masculinity no matter your own preferences. He was also batting for the other team, so the looks most of the females were sending his way were completely wasted.

"Well hello cousins. I didn't expect to get two for the price of one today." I gave them both a kiss on the cheek. Claudine grinned at me. "I managed to drag Claude away from his club tonight. It was only after I told him we were going salsa dancing that he agreed." She leaned in so she could whisper to me. "Personally I think he just likes to watch the men shake their booty." Urgh. I had to agree with Claude, the men here really knew how to show off their best asset, and I briefly wondered what it would be like to watch a certain tall, blond and handsome Viking shaking it up on the dance floor. Yum.

Claude was a strip dancer, he owned the club of course but he also danced there. I think he enjoyed the attention no matter the sex of the audience. He could give Daffodil a run for his money in vanity issues.

Claudine and Kassie kissed on the cheek, greeting each other with a lukewarm smile. They may not be the best friends forever, sleep over kind of pals but they tolerated each other to make me happy.

"Claudine this is Cresil. Cresil this is Claudine and this is her brother Claude." I pointed them out in turn. Claude got an interested look in his eye, it always made me wonder how he managed to have a hard on for the straightest guy in the room. Tonight it guaranteed he would be more polite than his usual self, which I decided was better than enlightening him about his bad choice straight up, plus I wanted to see how Cresil would react to Claude's interest.

The night went better than I imagined. The look on Cresil's face when he noticed Claude's overtures was priceless. The band played until early morning, and we danced for most of the time. For all of his character flaws, Claude was an exceptional dance partner and I loved dancing with him.

The night passed in a blur of dancing, cocktails and laughter. If I did happen to see a pair of piercing blue eyes smouldering at me from a dark corner of the bar, and my thoughts would fly to a certain Viking, I ignored the sparks they ignited in me. He couldn't possibly know I was here, it wasn't likely he would even visit a place like this anyway.

It was quiet when I popped to my apartments at the palace at six am that morning. I said my goodbyes to everyone earlier at the club. They were about to head to somewhere more tropical for breakfast, but I only had two hours before my meeting with Nergal, after which I had a full day of meetings and training, and I needed a little time to re-charge. If I was going to be dragged into policy negotiations with the garden pixie tribes in the palace orchard I'll need all the mental help I could get. Tricky little buggers!

I loved these rooms. I had different ones when I was little. There was a nursery in another part of the house, which was where I lived until I was thirteen. That was the age when I came into my full powers, dad bound my powers before then, so I wouldn't get into trouble. It was hard enough when they started trickling back in at thirteen; I couldn't imagine growing up with having access to everything I have now.

I had five rooms to myself; my private heaven. My bedroom, which had dark grey walls and white furniture, with gorgeous red and pink fabrics I picked out myself. The living room was light and airy with greens and browns, similar to the tones and style of my current house. I also had a study, which dad helped me with, we put floor to ceiling bookshelves on all the walls and a large wooden desk in the middle. I had a lounge chair next to the window where we used to spend our free time reading stories. Sometimes I read to him, other times he'd read for me.

I had a huge closet, it was almost the same size as my bedroom; I had a title to uphold, even if I preferred to wear jeans with a t-shirt most of the time. My bathroom was black with red accents, black marble and red fixtures.

As I sat in the huge armchair in my living room lost in the memories, I let the familiar surroundings soothe me. Calm spread through my body, like an early morning fog that slowly rises to wash away the sins of the night. I let it wash away my worries for a brief moment.

I was still sitting there when Killira came in with breakfast, as always somehow knowing what I needed without being told. She smiled at me when I opened my eyes.

"Good morning, your highness." She greeted me while setting down the tray with what I knew would be my favourites. Coffee, toast and fruit. "Why don't you run along and take a shower, while I get some clothes ready for you and you'll be fresh to start your day. If you are here this early, it is definitely going to be a busy one." She knew me very well.

"Thank you, Killira," I said and stretched out, my muscles ached in silent protest as I moved for the first time in more than an hour. "I like the way you think." I gave her a wink and went to follow orders.

Coming out of the shower, I found black jeans and a grey tank top laid out for me. She also put out my favourite training boots. I grinned at the thought of how well she knew me. Another half hour and I was ready to start dealing with life all over again.

"What do yo mean you haven't got any information?" I asked incredulous. Nergal always had something. I looked at him with suspicion rising in my mind. "Or is there something that could possibly put me in a dangerous situation and dad told you to make sure his poor fragile daughter is kept out of it?"

Okay, it was rude, but I was fuming. He looked offended and irritated with me all at once.

"If I had anything to report I would tell you. My sources haven't been able to locate Zagan." He said in disgust. "We have followed his trail out of Hell but lost it once he crossed Phlegethon. We aren't even sure how he managed to escape, he must have had help. The river of fire is impossible to cross without transportation, all of them are." My temper cooled a little as I noticed the worried frown on his face; this was bigger than Zagan's revenge on me. This was a breach in security. Nergal was worried and I'd never seen him worried. At least not enough for him to openly show it.

"I bet dad wasn't thrilled with the news either." I said easing up a bit. I had a feeling he had spent entirely too much time at the wrong end of royal tempers lately.

Nergal nodded his head jerkily, his read dread lock bouncing around his reptilian face.

"I have to assume we have a security breach somewhere in the force. I haven't yet established how high up it is; I am working on that now." His face softened when he looked at me. "I am sorry I couldn't get the information for you. I know it must be hard for you knowing he is out again."

"I'm fine, it was a long time ago." I replied, a little too quickly for it to ring true. I wasn't going to verbally admit that I was freaked out. "I am more worried about the leak. Keep me updated please. You can have the leak, but I am not going to let you do my dirty work."

He nodded, silently agreeing. His eyes gleamed with wicked pleasure, promising numerous painful and nasty things to whomever it was that managed to betray his king.

I had to agree, it would be my pleasure as well.

After my less than satisfactory meeting with Nergal I had time to waste until the next appointment, I also had some pent up frustration to get rid off. Walking into the practise field, I scanned around for a decent opponent. I was itching for a fight.

"What are you doing here pretty girl? Have you come to entertain the warriors, you would do better to come back tonight. I promise you will leave _satisfied_." I heard a male voice say on my left. I smiled inside; a feral smile, my barely contained anger rising up and making my body vibrate. I heard Zi growl in my mind at the insult. I shushed him. This was my fight. I turned around slowly almost like a predator who's trying not to scare off their prey with any sudden movements.

He was a large feline daemon, with a long lean body and catlike eyes. His body was covered in striped short hair. He was standing in a group of other newbies. I had to assume they were new, the older soldiers knew better than to pick on me or any other female entering the arena. Most I have either trained with when I was studying or taught myself. Seeing as I haven't been around as much in the last five years, there were a lot of new faces. I didn't recognise anyone standing in front of me.

"How long have you been here?" I asked with a neutral expression.

His chest puffed up a little. Silly kitty, I was only trying to figure if he was even worth challenging.

"This is my third training year." He told me, like I was meant to be very impressed. He was still a newbie, not enough training under his belt to give me a decent challenge, but it would be enough to help me get some tension out of me until I found someone worthy to pummel.

I spied one of the training masters hurrying our way having recognised me and motioned discreetly with my hand for him to keep his distance. He grinned and stopped to watch to game play out.

"You must be a very experienced fighter to have the balls to talk to a stranger the way you do." I said, playing this up for everything I could.

"You don't have to be a stranger for long, we could know each other intimately soon." He said with a leer.

"How about a friendly bet then?" I asked trying to hold the innocent expression without giving myself away. "If you _and_ your buddies beat me in the sword fight, we will have a _very_ intimate meeting…" I let my voice trail off. There were six in his training group including him.

He laughed.

"You want to take on all of us? Girl, you must be delusional, I don't fight with women as they are more useful in other areas." He was fast bordering on irritating.

"Have you been kept in isolation? Almost half of the force here is female." I was a little surprised by his stupidity, were we desperate when we enrolled him?

"Those are warriors." He scowled at me. "You are not."

"Do we have a deal or not?" I was getting tired of this.

He looked at his friends. Some of them weren't as amused by the situation as they had been before. They were obviously realising that I wasn't all feminine curves and smiles but lucky for me they still nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Wonderful." I let my feral smile finally surface.

I turned around to their training master and motioned for him to come over. He had covered his earlier grin with a mild expression of interest.

"You students have agreed to participate in a mock battle. Is that acceptable to you?"

He nodded.

"Yes, what are the terms?" He said. I noticed he skipped my title and I didn't correct him, he was playing along with my charade.

"Considering it will be six against one, I think first blood and out would be the best choice. Do they know the exercise?"

Mr. Cocky didn't look so confident now. Obviously he knew what I was talking about. It was a mock fight where you fought until one got nicked; if there was more than one opponent then each one left the field when wounded. Obviously the fact that I knew about it started to trigger something in his brain.

"Yes, we have." The instructor nodded to me.

"In that case I'll let you have a few words with your students while I get ready." I said to him and headed to the centre of the practise field.

It was a large field with enough space for more than one group to practise on. There were three other groups there at the moment. I noticed they all stopped their practise to watch us.

I called Lilliane into my hand when I came to the middle. She came ready for battle and I had to mentally bind her not to spill too much blood. Her thirst to kill was very strong and if I didn't keep it in check I could seriously injure these buffoons. Confident I wouldn't actually kill them, I waited for the training master to finish giving them last minute instructions as I let my mind drift away from the frustration of my previous meeting.

It took them another couple of minutes before the six came to stand in a circle around me, their own weapons drawn.

"Are you ready?" I asked, my tone expressionless as I let my natural instincts take over me, confident that Lilliane wouldn't cause any permanent damage.

"Yes." Their master said and signalled to begin.

I let my powers free, I felt my awareness heighten and the area around me became clear in my mind. It was a nice trick when you had enemies behind you. They hesitated when my power touched them. It was all the opening I needed, two were bleeding in less than a second. I was onto the third when I felt someone advancing at me from behind. I reacted on pure instinct, I ducked and sliced, the third was out. I was left standing with kitty and two of his friends.

They were a little stunned by what happened, I managed to take out three of their team members in less than a few seconds. I heard someone chuckle in the crowd but I paid them little heed. I advanced. They didn't put up much of a fight; they couldn't, I have a century of training on them.

Before the minute was out they were all bleeding. I turned my head to the daemon that started this episode, he looked livid. I made sure I marked him close enough to the area he valued most. The blood was already changing the colour of his trousers around his groin to a lovely shade of burnt out red.

"Let that be a lesson for you. Never underestimate your enemy. Never assume that someone is weak. Never let yourself think you are the better one in a fight because the second you do, you will lose more than a little blood." I said to him. He face turned red, he looked like a balloon that was about to pop.

"Lexie, are you terrorising the newbies again?" a familiar voice drawled.

I turned around and grinned. Haures was standing at the edge of the circle around us. Haures was one of dad's generals. He was the best fighter I knew; he taught me a lot of useful tricks. He was a giant wall of muscle and lethal power. He was black, literally, with eyes that looked like smouldering coals. He reminded me of the daemons I saw in some mythology books on earth; maybe whoever made up the devil had a personal visit from Haures?

"They wanted action. I couldn't very well leave them disappointed." I told him, trying to look innocent.

He laughed.

"Couldn't you pick on someone who at least would give you a fight?" he asked me, but there was no reproach in his voice, he probably already heard the story. He turned towards the others and his warm smile vanished. "As for you, I will not punish you for this indiscretion. Let this be a warning and a lesson. Do not assume you know who you are dealing with. In your free time this week I want every one of you lack wits to learn a little about the royal family you serve." He paused. I looked at their faces, the ones who could lose any colour did. Comprehension hitting their faces as their eyes moved between Haures and me. Kitty turned even more red.

"This is your princess, Alessandra Hellion-Brigant. She is also one of the most lethal warriors I know. You are lucky she was lenient with you, I would not have been as forgiving." He cast his gaze over all of them, and they looked like hares caught in a bear trap.

"Haures." I said. He looked at me, saw the tension in my body. To his experienced eye, I knew I looked like a barely leashed beast. A wildcat prowling her cage, waiting for an opportunity to strike out at the people who captured her.

We didn't need to say anything, reading each other had become second nature. Haures was my training master when I started at the age of seven, later he became my sparring partner.

One moment we stood there silently regarding each other, the next second our swords kissed, singing out in a joyous song and we were dancing the intricately dangerous dance.

The crowd, who came to watch my earlier fight had begun to disperse after Haures talked to them, came back. They formed a much larger circle than before and others drifted in, no doubt the rumours of our fight spreading around like wildfire.

I barely noticed, even the slightest slip and he would finish this.

Later someone would tell me that we fought so fast it was hard to follow our movements even with daemon eyes. Later I would learn the same daemons who insulted me would brag to their friends they fought their princess on the sparring field and watched her spar with Haures. Later I would hear that the fight was talked about for months, but at the time all I heard was the singing duet of our swords. All I saw was Haures and it was exactly what I needed.

I don't know how much time had passed before we called it quits, but I was covered in sweat and dirt. I was startled by the attention we gained, the crowd watching us must have swelled to five times its original size. The look of respect on the faces of these warriors gave me a rush of pride. I sparred with their hero and lived to tell the tale. I think only a score of people could boast that.

My body was full of endorphins from the fight, making it hum like a car that just got its oil changed, no trace of the anger and frustration I felt earlier remained.

I let Lilliane return to my neck and gave Haures a respectful nod. That was too deeply ingrained in me, I might not be his student any longer but he would always remain my training master.

"You have been keeping up with your practise, I see." He observed. He barely paid attention to the daemons around us. "Your left side needs more work."

My heart swelled from the compliment, his opinion mattered to me. I nodded in agreement with his assessment; I did need to fix some problems. I may have been practising but I haven't really trained.

"I'll work on it." I said, happy that that was the only weakness he noticed.

We started on our way out of the arena but we stopped by the six daemons who challenged me earlier. Before I could say anything, they bowed to me on their knees. I got a sudden flash of a bowling alley, and wanted to call out strike.

"Forgive our assumptions, your highness. We have wronged you and await further punishment." Said the leader, the same daemon who tried to get into my pants earlier.

"While I am happy to see you regretting your actions, I do wonder if this will encompass all aspects of your life." I said. I never did like bullies or men who assumed that women were inferior. "I hope that in the future you will treat all of the citizens with the same respect as you do me."

He gave a quick nod, and I continued on my way. While I hoped this lesson would leave an imprint in his brain, I got a distinct impression he would revert to his previous ways again, although I doubt he would be so quick to accept a challenge. That was something all daemons understood, brute force.

"I heard about Zagan." Haures said quietly, breaking my train of thought. Great. I began to wonder if someone was broadcasting it on the radio or something. "Has there been any progress in discovering his location?"

"No, and it's a lot messier than just finding him, but I'd rather not talk about it. I just worked out the kinks from my back, I'd like to keep it that way at least until I have to see Rimmon's face this afternoon." I said taking the turn in the corridor that would lead me in the general direction of my rooms to have a much needed shower. I didn't want to tell him the truth, that we might have a traitor.

"In that case, please do come back soon, I thoroughly enjoy anytime you decide to make an entrance." I heard him chuckle behind me as he let me go.

It was close to midday the next day when I popped back home to my dark bedroom. I installed very thick curtains just for days like this. I was wrung out. The negotiations were tedious and I learnt more than I ever wanted to about subdividing plant pots and seasonal flowering plants. The party after was a success and I was the toast at court as everyone welcomed me, although it was probably more my talents at organising such events, back into their company. I spent hours socialising, watching and listening to everyone in the hopes I would catch a snippet of information and then another couple of hours while I compared notes with dad and Nergal.

The royal court was full of gossip but not a single bit of it in any way useful.

I let Zi outside, so he could hunt and when I crawled under the cool sheets of my soft bed my eyes were already closed. I was out before my head hit the pillow.

It was a few minutes before eight when I parked my car near the back entrance of Fangtasia. There were three other cars parked in the lot. Eric's red corvette, Pam's gorgeous white Porsche and a sporty silver BMW. I slammed my door with a little more force than was necessary. I shouldn't take my bad mood out on my car, but I couldn't seem to help myself.

I woke up in the afternoon to find a message from Pam on my answering machine.

"_Alessandra, your services are needed. Be at the bar at eight." _

Pam needed some phone manner skills. I wasn't even going to go into my current aggravation with Eric, he wasn't earning any brownie points by pushing my buttons this way.

I walked up to the door and it opened before I could knock. Pam standing in the door way, her usual gothic clothes were replaced tonight by a baby blue silk skirt and a beautiful pink cardigan. She looked like she was about to do the tea rounds in high society.

She quickly assed my outfit before greeting me with a nod, since she didn't bother with an explanation in her message I dressed smart casual. A pair of off-white gaucho capri pants, topped with a belted short-sleave chocolate coloured jacket. I put a white singlet under the jacket and a pair of jewelled t-strap sandals. I assumed the nod was both a greeting and approval of my clothes.

I followed her inside. She led me to Eric's office, the door was open and I stepped in after her. I scanned the room hoping for a clue as to why I was summoned tonight, it didn't take me long to find it, or in this case him.

Eric was sitting behind his desk, his feet propped up on the corner of it. I noticed Longshadow leaning against the wall at the other end and a human man sitting in the chair in the middle. His body was trembling and he was sweating heavily. I smelled his fear, poor man, it must be terrifying to be the only human in a room full of vampires. Pam went to stand beside Longshadow taking her place and becoming as still as him. Two marble statues against the wall, lethal if underestimated.

I looked back at Eric.

"Northman. I'm here, what is it that you want?" I said one hand on my hip, just to piss him off. It worked, his mouth tightened slightly. His mask was firmly in place for him to give away anything more.

I heard Pam's snicker.

"I'm not in a good mood tonight, Alessandra. Do not test my patience." He said before pointing towards the shaking human. "I need you to listen to this man."

I looked at Eric a little closer, his body was noticeably tense and the blue in his eyes a stormy grey. I felt a twinge of guilt but squashed it. Eric could take care of himself. He has done so for a very long time, but he needed to know I wasn't going to be running when he ordered. Not that my being here right now helped, but at least I let him know I wasn't happy.

"Can I have a little more information as to what exactly I am listening for?" I asked, a touch more politely.

"It has been brought to my attention that someone is stealing from us." Eric said in clip tones.

"Who the hell is stupid enough to do that." I voiced my thought out loud. Eric raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, okay." I said holding up my hands to pacify him, as I moved to sit in a chair next to the human.

I discovered a few things from the human in front of me. He was Eric's accountant, although he really regretted taking on the job. He had a family, and he was really scared for them right now. He was also innocent, since he was the one who discovered the missing money.

"Eric, he's clean." I sighed, hoping they'd glamour him into forgetting this incident. He really was a good accountant.

Eric motioned to Pam, she walked over to escort the man out. I assumed she would be back with the next person I had to question.

"What are you planning on doing to whom ever is found guilty?" I asked.

I got a blank look in response. I didn't need telepathy to know what he planned.

"Eric, if the thief that's stealing is human, I would appreciate it if you handed them over to the police." I said.

"Why?" He asked. Gosh, I don't know, because last time I checked humans haven't made fund embezzlement a crime with a death sentence. Then I remembered the last time I caught humans here I was just as bloodthirsty as the vamps for justice. It was different, they killed others. Looking at Eric now, I knew I'd have to give him a better reason.

"I believe it would be better, since you are trying to mainstream. This is one instance where the police can actually take care of it. Let them. They will view it as an olive branch of a sort." I tried to explain my reasoning. "Money is money. I only believe in taking a life when you are threatened or defending others. If it is a vampire, naturally I wouldn't stand in your way."

He seemed to be thinking about what I said while I was giving him a slight smile. The supernaturals had their own forms of justice. If someone broke the rules, they knew what they could lose.

I felt Longshadow tense. I couldn't read vampires, but I sure picked up his unease and slight panic. I had a feeling the thief was in the room with us. I felt my face get neutral, I may not have had as much practise as Eric, but I wasn't an open book.

Pam brought in one of the waitresses. It was sickening to look at her barely covered body with bite marks everywhere. I read her, realising she had been wiped. A lot. It didn't help trying to sift through her brain for any information. There were just too many holes there to get anything useful, like a possible identity on the vampire who's been playing with an eraser in her head.

"Does she have any friends here?" I finally asked.

"Yes. One of the other waitresses. Why?" Pam answered.

"I believe she knows who it is but her brain has been wiped." I said. I was tensed now.

Waiting for the trap to snap, I had to be able to move quickly.

When Pam came in with the other girl, Eric got up to move around the room. I paid little attention to him. I didn't notice how good his butt looked in the black jeans he had on. I also didn't pay any attention to the fact that his broad shoulders were on display in the blue singlet or the flip flops he wore on his feet. The fact that his hair was in an intricate braid at the back of his head completely escaped my notice. Nope, I was professional tonight.

I got the name as soon as I dipped into the girl's mind. I didn't need to touch my intended target to read her. I didn't need her to be thinking about what I needed, I could flip through her mind, it was an open book to me. All humans are.

"Longshadow." I hissed and the answering growl was menacing, my body reacted instantaneously to the threat beside me. I felt the coolness of the wall on my back without even really remembering myself move. He was a split second behind me, not that his speed helped him. He was too late, I was ready and Zionos was snarling at him between us.

Eric faster, and I heard the unmistakable sound of skin rupturing as a stake went through it. I watched as Longshadow's face twisted in a startled grimace and he spat out blood. His body disintegrated into a pile of goo in front of my eyes. I was left looking into Eric's liquid blue pools. His fangs were down and he was angry and aroused. I wasn't sure if the first one was directed at me or at his now dead partner. It could have been because his office was now covered in blood or that he ruined his clothes. It didn't really matter because my body was busy reacting to his lust. I might not be big on bloodlust but I sure got fightlust.

I was mesmerised, wanting him close, preferably on top of me, now.

I was brought out of the lustful haze when Zionos growled. My eyes darted down to check why he interrupted; nothing there but a very angry looking kitty.

"Zionos, it's fine, you can relax." I told him.

_Fine. You can deal with two vampires in bloodlust thrall by yourself then._

And just like that he was gone. I felt a small scratch on my back. He was pissed at me too. Join the line Zi.

I decided to handle one problem at a time. I had two vampires in bloodlust, a screaming human and a pile of vampire remains. Step one…

"Pam." I said looking at her. Nothing.

"Pam, snap out of it." I said more sharply.

She shook her head. Her unfocused eyes seemed to clear enough to focus on me with a little bit more of awareness in them.

"Get her out of here. Now. Go feed." I ordered her, hoping that she'd listen. The clean up could wait.

She hesitated, but grabbed the hysterical girl and walked out of the office. She practically had to drag the girl out.

I concentrated on the second problem in front of me. Eric was eyeing me like I was a Vegas buffet.

"Eric, I do not want to do this right now. I will give you blood but I will not fuck you." I said. I didn't mind giving him blood. It wouldn't weaken me, my body would be regenerating it almost as quickly as he drank. "If you want more I will send in one of the girls." I said that part forcefully to get through his hazed mind.

My body was screaming at me to jump him, but I knew it was a very bad idea. I wanted to, really, but this isn't what I had in mind as our first encounter.

"Fine." His voice husky with desire and he was at my side in seconds. He nuzzled my throat, I leaned my head away to give him better access. I felt him breathe me in and then let out the air; it hit my skin like a cold fire turning my body heat up. I was beginning on having second thoughts about my offer.

He licked my throat as I swallowed. Then he bit, and the feeling of him taking my blood was mesmerising. I've heard others thinking about this constantly in the bar, but it felt very different for me, more intense than what I've seen in the memories of others, not quite human may have had something to do with my reaction. Instantly my whole body was on fire. I pushed closer to him, needing the physical contact. Craving his hands on me, he seemed to feel the same. His hands were sliding up and down my back, leaving trails of heat. I felt the liquid pleasure pool between my legs.

Eric didn't need a lot of blood. He pulled away from my throat after only a few sips, I felt him lick the wound. I didn't need the healing as it was probably already closed.

"You are delectable." He groaned and his mouth was on mine.

We were lost in the kiss for what seemed like forever. His hands moved down to my butt and he pushed me closer to him, grinding me against him. I noticed the impressive size.

My hands slid up into his hair and I pulled him closer to me, my desire beating down the resistance like a fast tide would eat up the beach. He pulled away eventually, leaving me breathless.

"Yield to me, Lover." He whispered into my trembling lips.

I looked back into his eyes, so blue, the perfect colour of a beautiful clear sky on a sunny day. I opened my mouth to agree. To hell with the consequences, I wanted this vampire.

"Are you done?" I heard Pam's amused voice from the direction of the doorway.

I think both of us growled at her then and she laughed. I could see she was enjoying our discomfort. My brain ran through different ways of killing her, all of them excruciatingly slow.

"We need to clean up the mess in here. Feel free to continue. I like to watch." She said with a leer.

That was enough for me to come to my senses. I pushed against Eric but he didn't budge.

"Eric let me go." I snapped. I was pretty pissed with myself for allowing things to get out of hand.

He gave me a swift kiss on the lips.

"This isn't over." He said quietly to me before letting me go.

If Pam heard him she ignored it, the fun for her was obviously over and she was all business while instructing one of the fangbangers in a crash course of 'how to efficiently clean up vampire remains.'

I didn't want to watch. I have seen enough carnage in my life. I went out of the room and into the bar. I got one of the girls in the bar to pour me a scotch on the rocks. I downed it in one straight gulp. It burned my throat but instead of making me cool, I smouldered hotter, lust rising in me like a hungry beast.

Eric came out into the bar and motioned for me to join him. I slammed the glass on the counter and grimly followed.

"Is his maker alive?" I asked trying to keep my mind off his body so I wouldn't jump him, yet.

"Yes." Eric told me as we walked to the back door. "I will have to pay a fine."

He didn't sound happy about it. I never understood that particular custom, as he was probably going to have to pay a lot more than he had lost.

"You didn't have to kill him. He wouldn't have gotten past Zi." I told him.

We were already outside in the parking lot when he stopped and turned towards me. His face was indecipherable. He looked magnificent in the moonlight, his wild masculine energy a perfect blend for the setting.

"I did not want to see you hurt." He said, his voice contained a trace of shock at the admission.

What do you say to something like that?

"Eric, I am not a fragile china doll. I can take care of myself." But I was smiling at his unwilling admission.

It was kind of nice that he cared enough to want to protect me. A warm feeling spread in my chest with the realisation he cared enough to want to do that. I wondered how many he has protected over the centuries.

"Why do I feel like I want to keep you safe?" he asked frustration written all over his face now.

I shrugged, not knowing the answer. I doubted he accepted one from me.

"Do you need anything else tonight?" I asked him, hoping he would let me off the hook before I embarrassed myself.

He considered my question for a minute. I waited, my body screaming at me for keeping it still.

Finally, he answered. "I would like to see your home."

There were many reasons why I should have to refuse tonight, but my mind drew blank on all of them and I felt my lips quirk into a small smile as I realised that I didn't want to refuse.

"Do you promise you will behave?"

"I always behave the way you want me to." Oh, the arrogance of the man.

"I doubt that Pam would be happy being left to clean up the mess." Trying to sound casual.

He raised one arrogant eyebrow.

"I don't give a fuck." Yeah, I felt the same way.

We got into our cars and sped away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sooo, I'm back with an update. **

**I'm sorry that this one took so long, but I wanted to finish up Dying Love first. Writing two stories at the same time has been distracting me to the point that neither one was getting done. **

**Then I had the pleasure of my computer dying on me last week**_** just**_** after I promised to get an update out asap. Lucky for me I backed up my stories recently so it wasn't as much of a tragedy as it could have been. I have a new laptop which is way cooler and prettier btw, although still difficult to type on but I'm getting used to it, slowly and rather painfully.**

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I love hearing from all of you and I'm also very pleased that you enjoying Lexie. I hope you continue to do so, she's awesome and I love her.**

**Big hugs to ElenaM for helping me out and bitching at me when I needed it.**

**Disclaimer: All the SVM characters belong to someone who isn't me, but Underworld is all mine.**

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The drive cleared my head somewhat, and doubts about inviting Eric over started creeping in like uninvited guests to a party.

Zagan.

The invisible elephant in the room, the one reason I was hesitating fucking Eric's brains out.

Fuck.

For the hundredth time I cursed that Nergal's people lost his trail and haven't managed to come up with anything since then. I am going to kill that son of a bitch as soon as I can flush him out of the hellhole he's hiding in.

My eyes flicked over to the rear-view mirror, I noticed the headlights of the corvette getting closer again. We looked like a choreographed duet, a pair of lights flying down an empty night road. Lucky for us there wasn't a car in sight. Neither of us enjoyed following the speed limit humans seemed to think necessary for safe driving.

Fifteen minutes was the quickest I've ever made it home from Shreveport, and I was pulling up to a stop in front of my gates with twenty three seconds to spare. I punched in the pin and sat there listening to the loud purring of my mustang and Eric's corvette while they opened.

_I'm going to go for a run._ Zi's voice broke through my thoughts as I felt him move up my back. His nails dug into me with more force than was strictly necessary; he was still annoyed with me.

I stifled a sigh while shivering from the uncomfortable sensation. "You aren't going to stay mad at me forever, Zi, are you? Besides, you knew I didn't need your help back there."

_I'm perfectly aware of your obviously growing weakness. Now I'm going to go and chase a rabbit while you indulge your new obsession._ Then he added as an afterthought,_ I want to hunt with Artemis._

That sounded suspiciously like a whine. He wouldn't openly whine, it was an unseemly habit an ava'h would never lower himself to (his words), but it came close. Zi and I were invited to one of her hunts a while back, he loved it. I did too. We went back every now and then. Once the Goddess gives you an invitation, you can come back any full moon for the hunt. I knew Zi would be bored of the lack of fun game here, but we really haven't had a chance to play lately.

"How about the next full moon, we'll go?" I asked full knowing he would like nothing more. I got a loud purr as I felt him rub against my neck with more affection. Zi pissed with me made my life uncomfortable, seeing as he lives under my skin, literally.

I rolled the car slowly through the gates keeping an eye on Eric. I deliberately moved just passed the gate while his car was sitting halfway through, the shield holding back his body firmly and most likely rather uncomfortably from entering.

He was the one who wouldn't believe I had shields around the property that functioned similar to the magic around homes which kept vampires out. From the glare fixed towards my car I'd say yes.

"You may come in, Eric," I said, letting the wind carry my voice to him. A cool trick I learned from Claudine. As I started slowly up my driveway I put my arm out of the window and Zi jumped out into the night, a sleek black shadow gliding effortlessly into the trees, silent and deadly. I wished him a good hunt as I felt him move further away from me.

The corvette practically flew in the rest of the way behind me, gravel going in all directions. I couldn't quite wipe off the satisfied smile that had sprung up on my face as I drove towards my garage.

We parked the cars side by side next to the garage. Killing the engine I took a deep breath that proved unsuccessful at calming my jittery nerves.

When I locked the car, I saw Eric standing in front of my house. The enigmatic look on his face didn't give me many clues as to whether he liked it or not. I loved my house. It was my design and for some reason his opinion mattered. I made my way over to him slowly, scratching my left arm in a nervous gesture. It was turning out to be a rather unsettling night.

When I came to stand next to him he turned his intense eyes on me. "Impressive." That was all he said, and all I seemingly needed to alleviate some of my nervous tension. Of course, pinning all of the complicated emotions of my need of approval was a way to not have to think about how much I would enjoy grabbing Eric and dragging him straight to the bedroom, but I tried to ignore unladylike urges.

"Thank you. I had a hand in creating," I said, pride evident in my tone. The feeling of uncertainty washed out of me and I felt the warmth of happiness warm me in the cool evening.

He looked slightly surprised by my answer.

"You built it yourself?" He asked. I moved my eyes to Eric's face, drinking in his features while trying not to laugh at his obvious misreading of my words.

"Well not the actually building work, no. I designed the house. With help, of course, but most of it was me."

I walked up the steps and after opening the front door I turned back to look at him. He was still waiting for me at the bottom, glaring at me with a rather ferocious stare. The shields were holding him back from stepping onto the first step, let alone walking up to the front door. Like I said earlier, I don't fool around with magic.

My earlier satisfaction filled my face as I let a wicked grin spread there. "How are my shields holding up?" There was no way to make that question sound innocent.

I watched him struggle to contain what probably would have been a less than complimentary answer before he grounded out, "Impeccable".

I nodded in satisfaction. "Come on in."

He walked in cautiously, looking around with undisguised interest, quickly cataloguing his surroundings. I watched him out of my peripheral vision, noticing a serious look on his face, while it was certainly a look of clear appreciation for my work there was cold calculation there as well. I felt like he was trying to read into his surroundings, trying to figure out why I had chosen each piece of furniture. Reading into my choices and learning more about me with each conclusion he came to.

I left him to it as I made my way to the kitchen. "Would you like a drink?"

"Is it one of the daemon bloods? Pam said they were delicious." The curious half-smile on his face said that he was probably going to try and talk me into supplying his business with the stuff. While not a bad idea in itself, it was doomed to fail. I could only sneak out a case here or there, not cases by the truckload.

"Yep. I stocked up." I went to heat one up and get myself something as well. While we both sipped our drinks, mine was of the alcohol variety, I described the other rooms to him, I didn't really trust myself with Eric in close proximity to a bed and from his mocking smile I knew he realised I was stalling.

He didn't push the issue for once. "What was the big structure on the side?" He asked after I was done bragging.

"That's my play room, come on I'll show you my babies." I said with a cheeky smile.

I chuckled at the perplexed look on his handsome face as I made my way past him towards the corridor into the gym.

"You have children?" He asked as he followed me.

I chuckled at his obvious misconception. I didn't need to turn on the light in the gym; we both had good night vision.

"I should have been more specific before, but the look on you face was just too much fun. This is my weapons collection, also known as my babies." I said with an over exaggerated flourish of my hand.

His eyes lit up. He looked like a little boy standing in front of a Christmas store display. I guess for this Viking this room was a bit like a toy museum, only you get to play with the toys in here.

We spent the next hour going over my collection. It was extensive, I loved weapons. I had silver, iron and steel swords, as well as a good variety of short swords and daggers, with a few hunting bows and sai. Some were mine, others I kept for my friends who came over once in a while and we'd spar. Daemons are specific as to what weapons they like to use. Most were daemon or fairy made. More than a few had their own names and magic. Eric appreciated the craftsmanship of them all. He was stroking the blade of one of the broadswords with particular reverence as I leaned against the wall next to him, enjoying his obvious appreciation of the weapon.

"Do you want to have a friendly match?" Of course, the last thing I had wanted tonight was to spar, but the idea wasn't totally repugnant. I may have been sexually frustrated before but seeing Eric holding the broadsword made my own hands itch for a match. I felt Lilliane stir in happy anticipation.

He looked up at me from admiring the sword. His eyes narrowed into slits as he tried to figure out if I really could fight with a weapon, or maybe estimate my ability. I felt my blood heat up from the intensity of his look. I had little doubt that he hadn't seen many women able to compete with him in an armed fight. I highly doubted that many men could I might not look all that threatening to a Viking more than a head taller than me, I knew I could match him in skill if not experience. I let my expression fall back into polite interest so I didn't give away how much I wanted to see him use that particular sword. It was a recent acquisition, a little too large for me to use, but too beautifully crafted to pass up.

After a moment of point blank assessment he seemed to reach some sort of conclusion and swung the sword he was holding experimentally. A smile made his lips turn up as he looked at me again.

"Here?"

I looked around trying to picture us actually fighting in the gym, it was great for solo practise but sparring with a six foot something Viking that had a broadsword would be extremely hazardous to its structural health.

"Let's head out to the clearing," I said as I pushed off the wall and started towards the glass door facing the back of the property.

"You have not taken a weapon." His voice was just behind me and I felt soft cool air hit my neck. I shivered as my body's appreciating his close proximity, if he were warm blooded I was sure I'd be feeling the heat of him all the way down my back.

"I always have one." I told him over my shoulder trying not to betray my rattled composure and ran into the woods with Eric following close behind me.

When we reached the clearing, I called Lilliane. She glittered in the moonlight, greeting me with her deadly song. It would be too easy to get lost in her entrancing melody; this little game would turn deadly. I let my hand run over the blade, caressing the silver glinting steel like greeting an old lover. I let the magic that was Lilliane's soul spread through me, letting my own senses spread out over the clearing.

When I looked up I saw Eric watching me with interest. "That's a very nice weapon, Alessandra." He realised it was her, but then anyone looking at Lilliane would never name her anything but female.

I smiled at him and he smiled back. "In her own way, yes, she lives on me as well. Her name is Lilliane." I said as I finished my binding on her. "First blood? Or do you just want to spar and see." I doubt he missed the fact that I said she _lives_.

"We will spar and see how long you can dance." He told me with an amused smirk. You would think that after one thousand years he'd stop judging a book by its cover, but I could tell he was still thinking of me as a woman rather than an opponent.

I moved Lilliane in front of me, flexing my arm muscles to make sure they were loose. I didn't need to warm up like humans do before a fight, but I still checked to make sure my movements were loose and uninhibited before any fight, a habit I'd fallen into thanks to my masters. I felt the clearing through my other senses, every blade of grass was a part of me now as my focus narrowed to Eric. I watched as he stalked around towards me, his movements graceful and predatory. He held the broadsword easily and I could see the rippling of muscles in his arms as he moved towards me. There wasn't even a hint of strain in any of his movements as he held the sword. I knew for a fact that it was heavy, but if you didn't know better you'd think it was made of air.

Eric obviously thought that his faster vampire speed and height would give him an advantage. But, even knowing that, he didn't rush into the fight, instead circling me with suppleness I'd have said impossible for someone that large. He was a vampire. Even a daemon would have trouble matching his liquid movements. My own feet moved quietly over the soft grass of the clearing, mirroring his movements. He waited. So did I. Not moving in to strike, but watching me, assessing. Reading in my movements everything I was in his and more. There was no tension in his body, a wasted effort for someone confident in his own skill.

I circled him, letting the waiting game play itself out. I heard a roar from beyond the tree line, Zi. Then Eric moved and all my attention snapped back to him in an instant.

Our swords clashed the sound echoing in eerie silence of darkness and moonlight. I had a moment to register the wicked gleam in his eyes before we moved away again and I was blocking a side swing.

For all of his natural grace and liquidity his style was heavier, more forceful than mine. It didn't mean either of us had an advantage over each other. Neither did it mean that we were out of sync. The differences didn't matter, we moved together flawlessly. Almost an echo of each other, two halves of a prefect whole, different, yet inexplicably the same. I let him attack as we parried, watching for any weakness in his position. There were none that I could see.

Then I noticed something. Just before he brought the sword down there was a brief pause, so brief that I'd have missed it if I wasn't paying such close attention. My blood boiled.

"You're holding back." I hissed at him.

"What if I am?" He had a smile on his face and I could see his fangs, he was definitely enjoying himself. I wondered how long it had been since he had a good fight, or even a challenging partner to spar. I did not think Pam was very interested in swords.

"Don't." I snarled back with a beautiful overhead swing. His laughter echoed through the trees around us.

He didn't.

It was well past two when I called a halt. I wasn't tired, but I was plenty sweaty and had dirt all over my clothes. My jacket had rips and blood from the nick that Eric had given me. His expression was priceless the first time he drew blood and watched it heal almost vampire fast. Not that Eric's clothes or skin was looking any better. We headed back to the house, feeling more relaxed than before, having channelled some of our tension into the fight. Not that any of the sexual tension was gone. No, but I knew he was feeling less bloodlust.

My mood shifted back into conscious denial for my growing attraction to the vampire walking next to me. The more I learned about him the more I realised I was in serious trouble. He was intelligent, devious (which was fun in my books), a good fighter and a whole bunch of other things, some of which I was sure would be very pleasurable. I knew he treated the staff at the bar well enough, and the vampires in the area all respected him. It would be so easy for me to fall, I wasn't sure if I hadn't already.

"You are very skilled with the sword. Not many would have been able to keep up with me the way you have." Eric said. I didn't get offended by his comment. I knew he had a serious amount of practise under his belt compared to me, it would be foolish for me to take offense at his obvious complement.

"I had good teachers Eric. I had to get good, quickly." I told him, the fact that he appreciated my skills sent warmth through me. "I may have been well protected but my position in Underworld was…less than stable or safe. Daemons are not known for their peaceful negotiation skills. I needed to prove I was a fighter if I wanted anyone to actually respect and listen to me. And my step-mummy isn't extremely maternal when it comes to me." She did try to kill me, still tries whenever a chance presents itself.

"Yes, most supernatural creatures respect power." He said in agreement. He was a vampire sheriff; I doubted his position was any less precarious. "Tell me about Underworld. I have heard about it before of course and have always wanted to visit. I have never had the opportunity. Only very few vampires are welcome there from what I understand."

I was surprised he wanted to talk. I mean even after knowing Eric for a couple of weeks, our chemistry together, I was surprised that he would let a chance like tonight go past. I was also a little grateful. Maybe he noticed my indecision before? I got both of us drinks before we sat down on the back porch. Eric rested his sword against the extra-large wicker chair he sat in. He stretched out his legs in front of him, and I dropped into the chair next to him suddenly feeling weak in the knees as I took him in. The fight helped to distract me, but my lust was back and raging inside my blood.

"Well, what would you like to know?" I asked, not sure where to begin or what he would like to hear about it. Underworld was a different plane of existence to this one, another world. It would take me months to even make a dent.

He was silent for a while thinking, trying to figure out the best question to start with.

"Is it true vampires do not need rest there? That the sun does not burn my kind?" Yes, that would be something he'd like to know. I wondered if he missed the sun, or even remembered what the warmth of it felt like on the skin.

"Yes. Our sun is slightly different to the one here. Underworld is a reflection of this world in a way. It is richer in colour and tastes, everything tastes different, stronger. The sun however is really different; it is like the one here, but isn't. It gives off heat and it gives energy to plants so they grow, but as we have discovered vampires don't get harmed by it. Maybe it's the magic of the place. I never really found out." I was always curious about that as well, but never really had the time to research.

"What about your life there?"

"My life?" I repeated a little confused.

"Yes. What do you do? What is your life like?" I took a peek at his face, he was completely serious. I wasn't sure where this was heading but I understood him wanting more information about me. Eric was a pragmatic vampire. He liked to have all the facts about the people he had dealings with. It made sense he would want to know more about me.

"I help where I can. Dad's got a lot on his plate. The politics are ruthless and inter-species relations are always strained. I don't think I'll ever understand why every race feels they are superior to another no matter which world they are in. I organise the social events, help out with the souls when I can and sometimes preside over trials as well. I'm the unofficial fae-daemon negotiator and ambassador, since I spend three months in Fae every year. There is always something to do."

I finally looked at him. He was watching me with an odd expression on his face. It made me almost wish I could read vampires.

"What made you come here?"

The million dollar question so to speak. One I wasn't ready to talk about even after all these years.

"I finished my training and wanted a break."

I rose from my seat and grabbed my empty glass. We were getting close to a topic few knew much about and feelings I've yet to verbalise to anyone. Not a single person knew what really happened that night. Most knew bits, but only I knew the truth. I wasn't ready. After all these years, I was still too sore, too broken. I sprang out of the seat, suddenly needing to move.

"Would you like another blood Eric?" My voice betraying the agitation I felt. I didn't want to talk about this, not now, not with Eric.

The blue of his eyes was as cold as an iceberg, and just as unfathomable as to its true depth. No emotion escaped him unless he let it. A thousand years of practise made him very good at hiding behind a façade. Mine was still flawed.

"Thank you Alessandra, but I believe I should get going. I still have a few things that need to be taken care of." A smile turned his lips up in the corners and the cool liquid of his eyes heating up with its appearance. "I would like to spar again sometime. It was…enlivening."

I felt disappointment hit me in the stomach like a minotaur's fist but kept the expression on my face neutral. One slip for the night was quite enough. It was one too many.

"Of course. I would enjoy that as well." I said politely as politely as I would address anyone in court. It was the face I showed the world of politicians, the face I presented at all the lovely functions that my dad loved for me to play hostess. "Give me a heads up and I'm sure we can arrange something, I do spend half my week in Underworld these days."

He nodded. I picked up his empty bottle and my glass and went to rinse both in the sink.

Eric stood waiting for me.

"I have to admit I didn't expect to have an evening of fighting and talking." I bet. When we left Fangtasia this was at the bottom of my list too. I looked at him when I finished in the kitchen. Even with bloody and ripped up clothing he looked amazing. I flushed hot as an image of him naked flew through my mind. Eric's nostrils flared slightly, he could smell my reaction to that thought. Damn vampire senses.

"Yes. I suppose you did." I smiled crookedly. "Just shows you that you have a definite inflated ego problem. Well, that or one track mind." I grinned at the last part.

His eyes roved over my curves. "My mind is obviously able to think of more than one thing. And my ego is not the only thing that is inflated while in your presence." He gave me a leer.

"You're the one who said you need to get going because you have business." I was playing with fire and well I knew it.

He was in front of me in a flash. His face so close that all I could see were the blue of his eyes. The same glacial blue stared down at me but now it was as hot as an inferno. I was melting very fast myself.

"Is that an invitation, lover?" The words slid down my skin like a caress. Oh boy! When am I going to learn not to play with fire? Then again it would be an absolutely boring life if I ever did. I closed my eyes and breathed him in. He smelled of the woods, the night and that dry scent of vampire. It brought up a mixture of feelings in me. I wanted to take him up on his offer but knew that it was a very bad idea. I felt his fingers slide slowly up my arms and my mind was quickly throwing out all of my reasons for procrastinating.

"I can't Eric. Not now." I breathed out. My eyes still closed because I didn't want to see his expression. I didn't want to see his face. I knew that I'd give in if I did.

I felt his face only inches away from mine. I stopped breathing.

Felt the brush of a feather light kiss on my lips. Sighed in answer.

"You will. Soon." Eric whispered against my lips. The air around me moved.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone. I heard the start of an engine outside and the screech of tires down the gravel of my driveway.I touched my lips as they tingled from the brief contact, already cursing my own stupidity for hesitating.

That night I had the longest, coldest shower of my life. It did nothing to alleviate my suffering and no matter how much I tried I couldn't get rid of the feeling of his lips against mine or the yearnings of wanting those lips on other parts of me as well.

A fortnight. Since the first night time Eric and I sparred. Extremely long andacutely frustrating two weeks. Eric had offered to relieve me of the tension, but I declined. Pam has offered too, naturally. To be fair we've hardly had an opportunity. I've barely had any rest in the last fortnight, splitting my time between my obligations here and Underworld.

Zagan was still free and a threat to me. He sent more daemons to try and capture me. None were powerful enough to even give me a challenge. He was all about playing with his prey. I learnt that first hand. I've always been his pray, never anything else.

I felt the burn of the ever present anger simmering like hot coals in my stomach whenever my thoughts turned in that direction.

We've managed to get close to catching him several times, but he always got away. He was always one step ahead. Last time he even left me a present. A tortured female half-daemon crucified and her guts stretched out around the room. She was still warm when the hunting squad found her.

The anger simmering burst through me like molten fire scorching my body. The air in the car crackled with tension as some of my anger charged the particles in it. My hands clenched around the wheel, the metal in it groaning under the tight sound making me snap out of my raging haze as I realised I was about to seriously damage my car. I took my foot of the gas pedal, letting the car slow down, and breathed. I let my concentration zero in on the air flowing through my lungs as I tried to push the disturbing image out of my mind, again. That was when I saw a shadow slip out from the forest and step into the path of my headlights. It was a woman. She was naked. Not that you'd be able to tell that from a quick glance since she was completely covered in a layer, or three, of caked dirt. She also had a hog with her. My night was getting interesting very quickly.

I snapped the mental shields in place and the fury receded. Hell! I was being played with and I didn't even know it. Bitch, I already didn't like her and we haven't even talked. Somehow I doubted my feelings would improve on closer acquaintance. I scanned out and realised she most definitely wasn't human. I put the car into park before opening the door with more force than was necessary. I wasn't exactly sure what I was dealing with but the way she controlled my emotions I knew that whatever she was it was definitely supernatural. She was also on my shit list before we even had a chance to say hi.

"Hello Alessandra." The naked woman's voice was almost musical, beautiful, whereas the rest of her was decidedly not. At least it didn't look it, but she was covered in dirt.

"What are you?" I asked warily, unsure which corner of the supernatural community spat her out. I felt Zionos start padding up my back; he was ready to protect me at a moment's notice.

She laughed a very rich husky laugh. It would have been rather sexy, if it wasn't so cracked.

"I'm surprised the daughter of Hades doesn't recognise one of my kind." She tilted her head to one side. "I suppose you haven't been in contact with many of your family's progenies."

That wasn't much of a clue, but it was enough to make me realise I may be facing something with a bit more juice than I expected.

"I've no quarrel with you, Hades' daughter. My name is Callisto. I've a message for Eric Northman. Tell him that I require my tribute from him."

I raised my eyebrow."And you think I would play delivery girl why?" I said, my voice taking on a bored tone.

She laughed; again, I noticed that the look in her eyes was far shrewder than her overall appearance would suggest it should be. "Because, it would be in your best interest not to draw attention to this area."

"I don't see how this could possibly affect me." I told her. "I do, however, find myself rather irritated by your attitude. I don't play messenger girl very well." I all but snarled at her. I hated threats.

My brain was busy processing what exactly was in front of my car and trying to threaten me. I had perfect memory; it was a perk of my heritage. Something that came in as handy as it was annoying. Like a computer data base I felt the information click in place. She was a maenad. Irritating creatures thinking they were superior to everyone and everything. They also happened to be completely was not exactly the sanest being I knew either, but unlike the women he created to worship him, he at least had an excuse for being such a pain in the behind for the rest of the family. Maenads were more powerful, thanks to the energy that went into their metaphorical birth, to just about anything really, except a god. Or divine fairy with an ava'h and a sword that enjoyed the taste of wild blood in its blade.

I pulled on my power. The goddess glow surrounded me and I let tendrils of it lash out towards her. It was almost too easy. She may have heard of me, but like most didn't comprehend I was just as powerful as my full blooded relatives, if not more so than some of the minor deities I knew. Maenads have always overestimated their own worth I'd heard before, that fact seemed to be true in this case. It left her completely immobilised. Cut off from her own brand of power. The insanity that she'd used against me only minutes earlier.

The stupid hog charged me. I almost lost the hold I had on the maenad as the animal launched itself towards me. Lucky for me Zi was paying more attention. He jumped off me in a graceful leap landing squarely on the pig as his jaw locked onto the animal's neck. I heard the sound of ripping flesh, the smell of blood hit my senses moments later as Zi's teeth ripped through the tender skin on its neck; the hog's minutes in this life were numbered.

I felt a chuckle escape me. Normal people would probably freak out, I laughed. I never pretended to be normal.

"You think a pig would kill me?" I couldn't help it; I was laughing like a mad woman now. Zi's amusement resounded through my head in echoes to my own.

When I calmed down somewhat, wiping the tears in my eyes, I looked back at Calisto. She was fuming.

"Darling, I understand the whole superiority issues you have. Trust me, I get it. I even get the fact that my uncle left you with only half a brain attached. It isn't your fault, really." I moved in closer to her. Right in her face, so she could see my emerald eyes glow with the power now running through me. My face held no traces of my earlier amusement. "But if you think you can threaten me or anyone who is in the area I live, you had better think again. I highly doubt my uncle would care if I destroyed one of his little followers." I hissed in her face. "What I do know is that he will not be impressed by your actions. Not. At. All." I let my words sink in before continuing, a smile spread on my face. It was an evil smile. "Zionos, darling, I did promise you a proper hunt. I think we've found fair game."

Calisto's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her, even through her insanity she realised what I'd meant.

_Can I kill the hog now? I don't think he's going to be much of a challenge._ My eyes flickered over to where Zi was holding down the wounded pet. He was right, the hog had already stopped fighting, I could feel his life seeping out of him as the blood left his body.

"Sure, you have another prey tonight." I turned back towards my car as I released Calisto and only turned around when I reached the door again. "Oh, Calisto." Her face was white under the dirt. Good. "I suggest you start running." I left Zionos a very happy kitty as I sped away to Fangtasia. He'd join me when he was done.

I pulled up at the back of Fangtasia about fifteen minutes after eight. Fifteen minutes late wasn't that bad, but I prided myself on being on time, so when I came up to the door, I saw Pam's smirk. She was wearing a lovely pastel Dior vintage dress. I'd have been more jealous if pastel's actually looked good on me, as it was I admired from afar and silently.

"Please don't Pam. I know I'm late and I do have a damn good excuse for it." I said holding up my hand to stall her commentary. She raised one of her perfectly arched eyebrows, but refrained from voicing what no doubt would have been a sardonic comment. I was in no mood for it. Instead she let me through with only a quick perusal of my attire. I doubted that she missed even the smallest of detail; the maxi dress that flowed around me in intricate patterns of red and blue flowers on beige, the plunging neckline that revealed more than it hid and the beautiful ruby that occupied the naked flesh there.

I made my way straight to Eric's office.

"Hello, Eric. What can I do for you tonight?" My mind shifted to a somewhat better place once I saw the Viking. He was sitting behind his desk reading some papers. He looked sinful as always while wearing a red singlet and with his hair braided in one slick French braid. We were supposed to spar tonight and he probably braided his hair up so it didn't get in the the first night at my house, Eric had come over as often as his and mine schedule synced. Which so far had been a whooping two times, tonight would have been the third. We practised with the swords and talked. Sure he never let an opportunity pass to try and get into my pants, which I'll admit I almost succumbed to on both occasions. Yet, we've never crossed the line, not was a matter of time. I got the distinct feeling that Eric was waiting for me to make the first move. We, both of us, were stubborn as hell.

He looked up an all too knowing smirk on his face.

"The night is too short for all the things I've pictured you doing for me, lover." I basked in his sensual words and the heat in his eyes. The heat that meant I was wanted, needed, and definitely appreciated. Yeah. I was going to cave soon and damn the consequences. Then he looked closely at me. "What has made you agitated, Lexie?"

I slid into a chair across from him in a huff.

"I had a rough day filling in for dad at court. The dwarf clans are fighting again. Did you know there is a maenad in the area?" I asked offhand. "She seemed to think she could get tribute from you."

His smile vanished.

"No. I was not aware we had that kind of visitor. I take it you have met her and left her presence unharmed."

I waved a hand in my general direction, pointing out that no harm has been caused.

"I did say she wanted something from you, not me." I pointed out.

His eyebrows went up. "What did she want?"

"A tribute." I was enjoying annoying him. Maybe I was getting PMS, but for some reason being contrary tonight felt good, really good. We stared at one another.

He cracked first, he didn't look like he was enjoying my mood as much as I was. "Elaborate."

I thought about holding off a little more but the expression on his face made me change my mind.

"She popped out from the forest and said hello. That would be after she tried to feed on my anger. She also seemed to think that you are required to give her a tribute." I felt a smile tugging at my mouth.

Eric raised an eyebrow, clearly getting frustrated with my lack of cooperation with his questioning.

"I pointed out that it would be in her best interest not to mess with me or those I consider in my protection."

Shock crossed his face and then he laughed. Well, this was going better than I hoped. When Eric was done laughing, his eyes still filled with merriment he said.

"You consider me under your protection?"

I smiled at him. I knew how ridiculous that statement sounded. A thousand year old vampire under the protection of a century old divine fae child, not something he considered possible. While normally I'd have agreed, I did have leverage when it came to certain creatures that he'd think twice before ignoring.

"I do work for you. Although my contract does not state any type of security, I was sure you would let me handle this. It is part of my area of expertise so to speak." I tried to make that sound charming. I really didn't need to prove that I could make him dust under my feet. "Eric, she wanted tribute, I doubt she would have been satisfied with a cow and some wine. She's insane…she needed more."

I could see that Eric knew very well what I was talking about and whom. It would be hard to find the right kind of tribute for a maenad if you are trying to mainstream.I saw conflict in his eyes. Doubt was creeping in that it wasn't some sort of altruistic ploy to get the upper hand with him. After all he didn't really know me that well. I tensed. The power that I raised before still running through my system was making me as tight as a wire on steroids. I needed a run, or battle…or sex. I realised my eyes betrayed me when I saw Eric's expression turn predatory. He knew what I needed better than I did. Vampire instincts were much more primal than mine.

He rose fluidly from his chair and in a few long strides was behind me. I felt his hand on my naked skin, slowly massaging my shoulders.

"Relax lover." His voice weaved magic around me. "You need to relax."

He massaged my shoulders, working magic with his long fingers and like most things my body obeyed his command. I felt like putty in his hands. It felt nice just to be cared for, nice to let go for a little while. The walls of my resistance crumbled a little bit more. Eric was like a slow tide, consistently working away at those walls. Trying to find a weak point to breach my defences, and today I felt myself weaken. I felt my will slip. I could blame it on the maenad, or on the constant stress that has become my life. If I was honest with myself, I knew I was starting to feel something more for Eric than just lust. Something beyond the electric pull that I experienced when I first met him. Something more than just the sexual chemistry that has put us in lots of compromising situations, that Pam always managed to take advantage of. I was starting to care. That was a dangerous place for me. I ran like hell from caring. Tonight though, my instincts just shut off and I enjoyed Eric's strong hands on my back, and the feeling that all my problems could be lifted off my shoulders, even for just a little while.

"Lexie." He said in half a growl. His voice so full of need I shook. I didn't have the will to resist him.

I found myself on top of his desk and in his arms and kissing Eric with a hunger that was mirrored back at me. His mouth tried to dominate mine, our tongues battling in another kind of war that had nothing to do with winning, just savouring. He kissed his way down my jaw and licked my neck, sucking the skin on top of the pulse point on my throat. A moan escaped me as my hands wrapped around his waist as I tried to press myself closer to his cool body. I needed more than just games tonight.

"Please…" I couldn't get more than that out of me, my thoughts hazy with need and hunger. My body trembled under his assault and the residual energy coursing through it, needing release.

He didn't need more invitations. My soft plea was enough. He understood what I needed in that moment, better than I ever would have been able to explain.

I felt the straps of my dress slide down my arms as his hands caressed their way down my body. His lips made their way back to mine and I nipped his lower lip, making his chest rumble in pleasure. Cool air hit my body as the dress slipped down to my waist; I didn't bother with a bra tonight.

"Beautiful." He breathed when he moved back to admire the view, I may have blushed under his intense scrutiny. My chest constricted in an all too familiar emotion when I saw his face so full of need and admiration, for me. I felt a vortex of need mixed in with power built up in me. When his cool tongue tasted my breast I whimpered.

His hand was busy working my dress up my thigh, slowly sending pulses down the electric current to the area that craved him most. I felt my rational mind slip further into a fog, my only awareness centred on this man, this vampire. My lover.

I heard a distant cry when his fingers reached their sought after destination, and realised it was my own. There was no doubt left in me that he knew exactly what he was about to do. His long and very knowledgeable fingers bringing me to the brink of pleasure, and letting me sit there until I whimpered helplessly for more while his mouth ravished the rest of me.

Power, pleasure and pain swirled in me creating an intoxicating current that was quickly pulling me into a vortex. "Look at me, lover." He barely whispered those words into my ear.

I fought to open my eyes, heavy from the charged currents running through me. His blue eyes pierced my own, the lust burning in them mixed together with satisfaction at my final held gratification of seeing me in this state of rapture from his actions. His free hand went around my back as he coaxed me to lean back against it, our eyes never breaking contact when he lowered himself closer to my breast. His fangs fully extended and hovering for a fraction of a moment above my flesh letting the anticipation build up in me as I watched his tongue lap up the salty bead of moisture on it.

He bit at the same time as I felt his fingers enter me and then everything exploded. There was nothing left but the feel of him in me, on me and around me. The million sparks of pleasure, pain and power thrusting me into a place of complete rapture when he pulled my blood into his mouth. He pulled in some of the residual power I had left from the fight as well, making me feel his satisfaction in watching me come apart on his fingers. It made me jealous and I pushed the next wave through the small bond between us. Eric's eyes widened as he felt it spread through is body, his hips thrust forward none to gently pushing his fingers further into me. I arched my back as the pleasure rippled through us, and took my pleasure from his as well, as Eric had his first dry orgasm in a very…very long time.

I felt tranquil and very satisfied for the first time in a month as we finally came back down to earth. My body still wrapped around his and his tongue gently licking at the remaining blood on my breast as I lay back on the desk in languid abandon.

Naturally, that was the moment Pam chose to walk in. Pam, with her all too perfect timing that's been a blessing before tonight, I would have happily killed her just now. If I had any energy left to kill with that is.

"I see you still have your clothes on, I'm glad I haven't missed the whole show." She said as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Eric's desk with a complete view of my mostly naked body. Her eyes took me in with obvious interest. "I enjoy participating too…"

I managed a scowl in her direction before shifting Eric to block her view of me so I could put my clothes back to covering all the parts he recently I was no prude, tonight I was feeling shier than usual. Eric let me move him, obviously still savouring his victory. There was also a proprietary light in Eric's eyes that told me he didn't want Pam to see me like this either.

"Pam, have you _ever _heard of knocking?" I asked while pulling the straps of my dress back onto my shoulders. Eric helped by adjusting the skirt and I gave him a small smile. My panties were a lost cause, there was no way I was going in search of them while Pam was in the room, and I didn't think there was much to salvage since I vaguely remember something being ripped off me.

I was back to looking somewhat more presentable, as much as I could with certain key elements of my outfit missing. I slid off the table and into the other chair next to Pam. My eyes landed on the conspicuous lacy material hanging from the corner of the shelving unit, I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

When I opened them again I saw that Eric just leaned against his desk in front of us, giving me a complete view of his wet crotch. I looked away and Pam sniggered.

"So is there a particular reason I'm here tonight?' I asked my voice a little short. I was annoyed at how much the vampires seem to be enjoying my discomfort.

"Your services have been requested by a Sheriff out of state." Eric told me. Straight to the point, a quality I've come to admire in him.

I looked up. It was a long way up, he was close to the chair I was sitting in, my neck started to hurt just from trying to keep eye contact.

"Eric, do you mind sitting down? Or moving…or something…" The words came out a little forced. I was starting to berate myself for what happened earlier. Guilt after all is a powerful thing. I knew that my mind was more focused now than it's been in weeks. My body more calm and battle ready, but the newfound focus still didn't excuse my lack of control. Having to stare at the result of my slip up didn't help matters.

Eric looked down at his pants, the satisfied smirk never leaving his face as his eyes came back to mine. "It would seem I'm in a need of a shower. Pam do fill Lexie in while I change." Then his eyebrow went up. "Unless you'd like to join me?"

"Go wash Viking." I hissed as he chuckled his way out the door. I groaned as I realised that the mental image of him wet and naked was already crystal clear in my mind.

Hell and damnation, what have I gotten myself into?


	10. Chapter 10

**First off, thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I love this story and I'm happy to see others enjoying it as well. **

**I'm sorry I didn't update during the week, which was the plan, but I've been stuck looking after four kids (all four years old) and I've barely managed to get through this. Thank goodness I'm giving three of them back next week. **** Can't wait. LOL **

**Disclamier: I don't own any of the CH/AB characters, but Lexie is all mine.**

**Enjoy…**

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When I looked back at Pam her smile was smug.

"Really Alessandra, I don't understand why you keep denying yourself. I've heard that celibacy is quite an unhealthy habit. If having sex with a man bothers you, I am sure I can help."

She winked at me and I couldn't help but laugh at her audaciousness. The two of them would never stop trying to get into my pants. I tried not to blush at the fact that one of them has very much succeeded.

"I have my reasons," I said in a more sober tone as I came crashing back to reality of my situation. I knew she wouldn't listen to any of my admonishments. Lucky I wasn't nearly as modest or sexually unaware as most humans seem to be, so I wasn't bothered by it all that much. "Which Sheriff will have the pleasure of my company and where?" I didn't want to discuss my sex life, or lack of one right now. After an assessing look she conceded to the change of topic.

"Stan is the Sheriff of Area 6 in Texas, Dallas. It seems they have a very active branch of Fellowship of the Sun there. You are familiar with them?" Pam's upper lip curled as she said the name. I gathered they weren't on Fangtasia's VIP list.

"No, but I am sure you'll be happy to explain…" My smile could entice a bear into a trap. It took a lot to get this kind of a reaction from Pam. She didn't have a high opinion of humans in general, but she usually just ignored them. While I'd reserve my opinion until I learned more, I've come to realise that our views on certain things were somewhat similar. Call it a hunch, but I didn't think I'd like this Fellowship of the Sun one little bit. Her next words proved my instinct right.

"They're actively campaigning against vampire rights. It's a church organisation that preaches something about vampires being Devil spawn. Stan has misplaced one of his nest mates, and since a search of all the usual haunts turned up nothing so far, the Fellowship has come under suspicion."

"And they what? Expect me to waltz into this Fellowship and telepath the information right out the friendly Brady bunch people?" I sneered in disgust. I never liked ignorant zealots. It was always a good day when I ushered one into race and being had a right to exist. Their nature isn't something they chose. It just is. I particularly enjoyed ushering the fanatical idiots into the hell pit. Blaming others for their nature was just wrong, especially if their own was nothing short of monstrous.

Like I said, I never liked zealots, but right now vampires were on my shit list too.

"That would be something for you to discuss with Stan. Now, what happened tonight to make you late and pissy?" Her eyes were glittered with excitement when she said it. Pam's addiction to 'Dear Abby' made her want to try and solve everyone's problems, or at least advise how to solve them. I took the cue not wanting to get worked up over an issue that might not even rear its head. With my luck, I'll end up waltzing in willingly the viper's nest, and with a bright smile on my face.

"There was a slight misunderstanding with a maenad." I shrugged it off as not important.

"Maenad…Eric has told me about them. Do you think they taste nice?" she asked with a glimmer of real excitement in her eyes. I tried not to gag, as much as I understood their diet, I didn't share the enthusiasm.

"Pam. I don't drink blood. I've no idea what she tastes like. She's quite insane, so I assume her blood wouldn't be much better." I told her honestly.

"Yes, insanity is rather sour on the taste buds, but it would have been interesting." Pam said regretfully. Urgh. You'd think I'd be used to things like this by now.

"I'll call you next time I catch a maenad, shall I? I'm sure Zi would just love some company on a hunt."

"Zionos is not here?" Her eyes flared wide. I nodded to confirm that fact, and I closed my eyes to zero in on my ava'h.

"He is currently chasing our new friend through a particularly muddy part of the forest." I said as the images of his whereabouts flickered behind my eyelids.

"You can see where he is?" Her voice betrayed excitement at the idea.

"Yes." My eyes fluttered open to see the excitement I heard mirror in her features. "Our minds are intertwined, so he can better assess if I need help, in any capacity."

Speculation lit up her eyes. "How curious… maybe he'll be able to tell me what she tastes like." Lovely.

"I'll make sure to find out." I told her with little enthusiasm. We fell into a comfortable silence. Pam contemplating hunting a maenad with Zi and I was thinking about my upcoming trip.

It would be a good idea to get the history of this Stan I will be working for soon. I also wanted to find out more about the Fellowship, if they were organised enough to kidnap a vampire, I would have to look into it and keep an eye on things. Humans were such silly ignorant creatures sometimes. They didn't realise that their little anti-vampire movement was allowed to exist because the supernatural community let them. Of course, humans didn't really know about the rest of us, but that would soon change at least for some other races. I've heard rumblings about were-animals wanting to come out. Still, kidnapping a vampire wasn't their brightest move. Did they want trouble on their door step? Did they really think their God would protect them? That they would go to heaven? Well, heaven was a relative concept, something more fluid than what Christianity described. Those whose spirit hasn't been soiled would but most…yes…most…would make the dark journey into hell.

My grim thoughts about the fate of humankind were broken when the door opened and Eric sauntered in. Naked. I forgot how to breathe. My brain may have registered there was a towel wrapped around his waist, which made him not completely naked. That didn't matter, because the rest of him was gloriously on display, hard planes of muscle, strong legs and thick arms. Every inch of his skin alabaster marble and my hand lifted slightly from the unquestionable need to touch that white skin. I licked my lips when I saw water running down his chest, my eyes riveted as it made its path down his sculpted torso, disappearing into the blond hair just above the towel.

I am sure everything was written on my face. No amount of court training could prepare you for this particular sight. I managed to drag my eyes to Eric's face; his smirk was so broad, I was afraid his face would crack. The bastard posed for effect too before continuing towards what I assumed would be a closet. Both of them could smell my arousal, again. I tried turning the other way, tearing my eyes from Eric's naked body just to keep myself in check. My luck must have run out with the maenad because there was a full length mirror in the direction I turned. At that moment it was showing off Eric's glorious back. I closed my eyes. This was torture.

When I'd calmed myself down, a little, and regained my equilibrium I peeked. He was in the middle of pulling on a black Fangtasia t-shirt. The muscles rippled on his chest and arms as he slid the material over his head. My day-dreams would never be the same again; I had seriously done him an injustice before tonight. Part of my brain scolded for missing the most important part of the process, but from our earlier encounter I knew _that_ part of him was more than adequate. Keeping Eric Northman at arm's length has been the biggest challenge in my add insult to injury Pam was openly snickering at my discomfort.

"Pam has filled you in on the details of the job?" Eric asked, after finally sitting down behind his desk. I breathed a sigh of relief once we had the desk as a barrier between us.

His eyes danced with amusement over my reaction. I may not be as modest as humans, but vampires took things to a whole new level when it came to public display of nudity. And while I didn't mind in this particular case, it did pose a few problems for me when it came to answering with a coherent reply. My voice seemed to have deserted me along with my brain cells, so I simply nodded.

"Excellent. I'm interested to see how things will work out. We've come to an agreement with Stan. You'll be escorted by a vampire from my area when you are out at night." He raised a hand to stall my objections. "I understand that you don't need it, but unless we make your heritage known, it is a necessary precaution for a 'human' with such a valuable talent. Plus, Pam seems to think it would be an enjoyable trip for her."

My head snapped to Pam so fast I'm sure the noise travelled a little behind the movement.

"You're coming with me?" I wasn't sure if I was relieved or not about this new development.

"Yes. We'll be sharing a room and can have one of those pyjama parties I've read about." Pam deadpanned.

The idea of Pam and I sitting around in our pjs doing each other's nails almost made me giggle. I settled for a smile, the first genuinely happy smile of the evening. Pam was remarkably uninformed when it came to simple human customs or friendship in general.

"I'm sure we'll think of something. There is always shopping." I winked at her. I've taken her shopping to New York a few times. We've been especially close since then. Personally, I blame the sales, but then again maybe she actually was warming up to me. It's hard to tell with Pam.

Eric looked at us with amusement. I was grinning and Pam was positively ready to give birth to kittens. I knew she hasn't had a vacation in a while. The trip suddenly looked like a lot more fun than I originally imagined.

"When is the flight? What else can you tell me about the situation? Am I going to have to go to this Church to find the vampire in question?" I fired out at Eric. I needed to know how much risk was involved in this. I had a feeling this was a situation that if handled incorrectly would result in an all-out war.

"The flight leaves on Wednesday during the day, you will arrive shortly before sunset. As for the rest, Stan assures me he will fill you in. I assume you understand the repercussion of not being able to locate the vampire on time?" I nodded, this was serious enough. "Pam has a spare bedroom at her house for you to stay at so you will be picked up together. She, of course, will be quite dead at the time, so you will need to handle all the flight arrangements and documentation."

"Hang on, why do I have to stay at Pam's?" I asked. "The flight leaves in the afternoon, right?"

"True, but I assumed it would be more convenient for both of you." Eric and his high-handed proclamations.

"I think Pam and I can work this part out just fine without you butting in." I told him firmly. I looked over at Pam, who was enjoying our discussion. Something about giving Eric hell really pushed her happy buttons. Glad I could be of help, I guess.

I needed more information than I was getting from these two, which meant I needed to get back to Underworld. I might as well go now, since I've a deadline, apparently. I sighed internally, Eric's good work was quickly going down the drain and I was getting all tensed again. Something smelled completely off about this situation.

"I'll call you later tonight to organise things. If I'm going on this trip I'll need more information." I said as I got up from my chair and headed towards the door.

I felt Zi materialise on my back as I made my exit.

_I take it the hunt went well?_ I asked him mentally. My stride didn't falter as I stepped from Eric's office straight to my apartment at the palace.

_It was satisfactory. She really could have put up more of a fight._ He purred back, but even grumbling I knew he was happy. At least someone was.

_I'm glad you had fun._

He started purring louder. _I did and she tasted delicious. _ I'll have to make sure I let Pam know about that. She's sure to be jealous.

The last couple of hours saw me flitting around the palace. I dropped by Nergal first. No, they didn't happen to have any new leads on Zagan. No, there haven't been any new crimes that hinted at his presence. The calm before the storm and I was sure a storm was brewing. I smelled trouble.

I made a pit stop at the tech department in there too. All the information we had on Stan, his nest, and the Fellowship was already in my inbox, my bedtime reading material. If I ever got to be in bed.

Interrupting court was about as exciting as this visit got for me. Of course, my night has already been full of excitement, so lack of it wasn't something I mourned. It always gave me a perverse kind of satisfaction when I interrupted court, purely out of sheer vindictiveness. I didn't like more than half of who was in the room, from the thoughts in their minds, they didn't like me much either. Notice I didn't say people, or humans, or something equally as labelling. There were just too many different beings to be able to apply just one descriptive word, since they were both in the living and dead variety. What can I say, it's a diverse assortment of creatures that live in Underworld. Everyone dies… and comes to live in Underworld, for a while.

"I'm going to Dallas this week." My smile was weak. I just knew he was not going to be happy with me for sticking my nose into that shit pile. Hell, I wasn't happy with me.

"The missing vampire, yes, I've heard. I'd like to hear more about this Fellowship church. They are becoming rather active." I was flabbergasted. Even dad's heard of them before me. Well, that wasn't really all that surprising, Nergal reported to him daily. Nergal knew everything. That is everything, but the current location of my prison escaping, highly dangerous and probably completely insane ex-fiancé.

"I'll see what I can do." I decided not to mention that my trip may include an up-close and personal chat with Reverend Steve Newland (the figurehead of the church as I've found out from my educational side-trip earlier). "They're getting more pro-active, it could cause problems." It wasn't just the vampires I was thinking of. Fanatical groups like these through the ages have been solely responsible for the biggest system crashes in our history. Take the Holocaust, there are some departments that are still catching up on their paperwork, I'm not even going to mention all those poor souls that had to wait in line because we couldn't find their fucking file. That was the time I was on Hell's gate duty. Like I said, I don't like fanatics. I don't think that the ones I 'processed' liked me very much at all.

"You are going to interfere?" He said a knowing smirk on his lips.

"Make sure a few fanatical idiots shit their pants and leave the sheep alone? I would never." I deadpanned. "I don't think that's what the vampires hired me for. Their mainstreaming and my methods wouldn't mesh all that well."

He gave me a smile and I beamed back. Dad might not be big on compliments, but I learned how to read between the lines with him. He's never been big on compliments, or talking really. How I ended up with my big mouth I've no idea…oh yeah…part fae. Damn fairies!

I got back to the parking lot behind the bar a little after three in the morning. Fangtasia was closed already and the parking lot was eerily empty with the exception of one car. My mustang sat alone in the spot that I've come to know as Eric's personal parking space. It had the Fangtasia logo fangs in the middle of it. I really enjoyed getting here before Eric when I was look on his face when he found my car in his spot the first time… priceless.

Zionos felt them first. I just knew him suddenly pacing his way up my back meant trouble, but I hoped he just wanted a ride in the passenger's seat. You know I always wondered what would happen if I got stopped by a human police officer on the nights we did that.

"M'am do you have a permit for the feline?"

But he did enjoy sticking his head out of the window and catching the wind. I realise it's more of a dog thing. Zi's not exactly your domesticated furry companion; all those scents rushing past on the wind give him a high. I like to make Zi happy. After all, living in close quarters takes a whole new meaning when you have an ava'h hitching a ride on your skin and made privy to your every mood.

_Trouble. _That was all Zionos said before leaping off and in front of me. Lilliane was in my hands and my shields were up faster than he made it off my arm. I backed up towards the wall not wanting the blind spot when dealing with an unknown. I barely had time to open up my mind when they were on us.

Five daemons. All high class; playtime was over. Somehow I didn't think these five failed to complete many of their missions.

The first one came from my left. I would have been counting stars and flat on my back if I hadn't had my shields up. He was very powerful, a rogue and had atrocious fashion sense. Who the fuck still wears flared out jeans?

His fire attack slammed into my shield, I staggered slightly. Unfortunately it placed me further away from the wall, far enough that the opportunity flew out of the window as my new friend moved in between me and it. Doubt that I'll walk away from here in one piece wormed its way into my thoughts.

I saw Zionos circling another daemon. I was too busy with mine to pay much attention though. Zi can handle a level five without breaking a sweat. He might be the one protecting me, but I still worried about him.

Fire was his element, and he was red all over. If you have seen Hell Boy, well, you can imagine the rest right? No horns though. I really don't get the whole goat, horn, devil association. I get the pitchfork, the fire but horns and a tail? What the fuck?

They knew how to weaken me. Zagan must have fed them information, the bastard. He was one of the few who actually knew my weaknesses. I trusted him enough to tell him. I can count on one hand those whom I trusted that much. He just added another century or two onto his torture.

Between the four that surrounded me, they were covering all the elements. I had to focus to keep up with them. My power although strong, was definitely finite, a full blooded goddess I am not. I was losing power and quickly. Their attacks designed specifically to drain me. I sneaked a look to see if help was coming.

Zionos was cornered by the feline daemon. Yes, the ones with fur and shifting privileges. This one was a mountainous lion, Zi was big and powerful, but I think he finally met someone who'd match him and somewhat. Now really was not a good time for such a discovery.

I was in a heap of trouble. Another strike and I felt my shields waver.

"Zagan sends his greetings little goddess." The fire daemon sneered at me. "He wanted you to see what's in store for you later."

"You mean you are just a messenger boy? How quaint." I sneered. My outside cool didn't betray my rapidly growing panic. The fact that I could be outmatched so easily frightened me like nothing ever could.

"You are not as powerful as he assumed. I shall enjoy you when this is all over." I heard the black daemon on my left hiss out. Snake like tongue slipped out of his mouth. Nasty.

"Do you really think Zagan's the sharing type?" I asked, trying to keep the bile from chocking me. I felt my senses shrinking as I tightened my shields around me. The two daemons I could see with my eyes started to blur as I felt myself tapping into the last source of power of my physical strength. I felt another hit on my shields, this one made me stagger. I bit my lip, the pain helped me focus.

"You should be thankful this is just a warning for you to surrender willingly." The fire daemon was talking again. I guess he was their leader.

"Why would I want to do that?" I said through gritted teeth. My palms were sweaty.

"So your little friends stay safe. Zagan wants only you. Keep that in mind when you are feeling feisty." He sneered at me.

I saw a bright flash in front of my eyes, heard Zi's savage roar in the distance. I didn't know what happened, only that for the first time in my whole life I blacked out.  
~~

"Will she recover? The words were spoken by a strangely soothing male voice. The question sounded agitated, almost anxious and more than a little impatient. I tried to put a name to it, but my mind refused to cooperate. Almost catatonic state of being is not a good conduit for cohesive thoughts. I let it go. Drifting. Listening.

A second voice answered; this one female. "Northman, she has divine blood, she can't die. This is temporary. Her power has been drained and she was magically bruised, but it will heal once she has started to re-charge. She'll need to regain her strength, take it easy. A good sleep and no activity for twenty four hours and she'll be as good as new."

"Well is there a way to help her recovery process apart from resting? Maybe some sort of medicine?"

A harrumph followed. "I'm sure your blood would help seeing as you're a rare vintage. Otherwise no." I heard footsteps away from me. "I'll send you my bill and next time don't bother me with something so trivial in the middle of the fucking night." I'm not sure if I like this doctor much.

My mind finally recognised one voice. Eric. Was that an edge of panic in his voice? What was Eric doing here? Then I tried to remember where I was and came up blank.

That can't be good.

Of course, the feeling of waking up and not knowing where you are was a novelty for me too. I always know where I am. The headache that was threatening to split my scalp into two was something I've known before. The dots began to connect as the foggy feeling left my mind.

I was drained from the fight. Not blood drained, but magically drained. Something I've yet to experience. Sure I've had a few close calls, but this? I've never been this bad before.

I passed out while surrounded by enemies. Why wasn't I somewhere with Zagan leering over me, croaking about his victory?

I opened my eyes slowly. Lucky for them the room contained minimum light. Eric had a small lamp turned on, and I was thankful that the light shined away from me. I reminded myself to sneak out a few cases of his favourite bottle bloods from Underworld as a thank you. Otherwise the office was in shadows and my eyes only protested a little at being used again. At least they were still working. I didn't want to move yet, judging from the reaction I got from a relatively small action, anything bigger and I was risking going back into La-la land of the blanks. I didn't like my first visit, thank you very much.

My eyelids felt heavy. I've never felt this weak in all my life. Panic started swirling up like a summer storm, quickly and out of nowhere.

Growing up in Underworld had made me immune to most things. Just looking at some of my father's subordinates would make the supernatural creatures of this world double check their doors and windows each night. I didn't see monsters, I saw my friends. It was later that I learnt just how feared some of them were, and how lethal. As an adult I have seen into the minds of the truly deranged. I've seen hatred in all its forms. I've seen evil and never ever felt fear. . Never fear. It wasn't something I enjoyed feeling now that I've discovered it.

I've never felt as weak as I was feeling now. My stomach clenched into a knot. I knew true fear now. Fear of being helpless. Pain shot up my legs as an involuntary shudder raked my body. The fear you feel when you relinquish control of yourself to others because you can't do anything about it. I couldn't move my arms at all. The fear you feel when you are at the mercy of someone you aren't sure you trust. The shallow breaths increased in speed as lack of oxygen registered. I learned the true meaning of fear in those brief seconds of almost complete paralysis.

I felt Zionos press his cold wet nose into my leg. I must be running a fever, a first for me; his nose was too cold, almost like ice against my skin. He started to purr. It always made me feel relaxed when he purred. Right now though, it did nothing to squelch my rising panic.

The only organs moving adequately in my body were my eyes. I was desperately taking in the room and trying to assess if there was any danger. But even they betrayed me as I felt tears spring up from the frustration of not being able to move, my vision blurred. I wanted to scream.

Then Eric's face filled my vision. His blue eyes pools of compassion. It occurred to me that Eric was not the compassionate type, at least not if there wasn't anything in it for him. Vampires are not known for their philanthropy after all. I didn't care if it was all an act. Selfishly, and probably recklessly, it made me feel safe. The hurricane of pain and panic in me subsided.

"Eric." I croaked. My voice sounded weak and broken. I'd hate myself for showing such weaknesses later.

"You're safe Alessandra. Dr Ludwig has assured me you haven't sustained any permanent damage. She said you will be fine after you've had some rest." He paused, looking slightly unsure how to say what he wanted to voice next. I knew he saw me starting to panic because he grabbed my hand and stroked it soothingly. "It would be a good idea for you to have some of my blood. I am old, and my blood will help you heal faster. Would you agree to this?"

I searched his face for falsehood. I was not sure why, I heard Dr Ludwig myself before I started to panic. I just wanted to make sure this wasn't a ruse for him to get blood into me. I knew that once I had Eric blood there would be repercussions. He would be able to feel me. Feel my emotions. My location. But did I really have a choice if I wanted to get mobile, fast?

_I trust him. Lexie, if he didn't come when he did…_Zi's voice trailed off. Zionos was actually telling me to _trust_ Eric? You could have knocked me down with a feather. Oh. Wait. I was already down. I felt his self-loathing and despair. I knew he felt like he failed me. It would have to be dealt with another time though.

"Thank you." I told Eric. Vampires were very protective when it came to sharing their blood. Knowing I wasn't a human who could easily be manipulated by such an exchange was a great show of trust on Eric's part as well. I searched his eyes and saw only honesty and concern in their glacial depths. If I could have thought clearly back then I would have realised it was probably from Eric having had some of my blood already. Him consuming my blood would have made him worry about me, would have made him feel my pain, and would have made him more willing to want to heal me. Or maybe he just cared because he liked me.

He went down on his knees in front of the couch and bit into his wrist and gently put it to my mouth. My lips opened a little bit at first. The first drop hit my tongue with all the force of lightning. As the blood trickled down my throat I started to suck on the wound. It felt like a river of power that opened up. Instead of the drops of blood it was a waterfall of raw power and strength flooding my body like a spring thaw would flood a creak.

I heard Eric groan. Felt his growing excitement in the blood I was ingesting. I hadn't realised vampires enjoyed this process as much as the reverse. The wound closed quickly but what little blood I had was more than enough to restore me, at least to the point where I could probably stand on my own, for a little bit. Weak as a baby lamb, that was me. Vulnerable was not something my mind could come to terms with very easily. My power still flat lined, but I could only cure that with one thing. Something that wasn't readily available outside of divine realms.

It took a few minutes for both of us to regain some equilibrium. Eric and I were certainly bonding tonight. The irony didn't escape me there, or the fact that I could actually feel his presence in my mind. Something about exchanging blood made me aware of Eric Northman on a whole different level. My hormones didn't need another reason to jump this vampire, but I certainly managed to tally up a staggering number of them in less than a month.

Eric's deep baritone penetrated my rambling thoughts. "Lexie?"

I didn't bother opening my eyes. "Give me a minute to recover."

His chuckle revibrated through me, both mentally and physically. Did he not realise what he was doing to my libido, or that it was certainly not helping at the moment? I started to get irritated by him, but then if I could feel his emotions and presence, he could probably feel mine. He could also feel that I wasn't exactly immune to the whole process, or that even if I was weak I was still interested. Arrogant, infuriating man.

Searching for a distraction I asked. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you guys left for the night."

"We did. It was rather fruitions for you that I needed to come back for something."

"Yes. Aren't I the lucky one tonight." My voice was dripping sarcasm, but I didn't care. I had a rough night and was quite ready to voice my unhappiness.

"It would seem you have been attracting quite a lot of trouble lately. Is this a normal characteristic I should be aware off?" Eric's question was laced with amusement. That made me wonder if he actually enjoyed all the trouble I have inadvertently brought into his life.

"I have to admit my life is hardly dull. Comes with the territory. Tonight, however, has been more troublesome than I care for."

I opened my eyes to catch the unguarded amusement in his. It vanished with his next question. "Yes, it would seem so. What exactly did they want?"

I wondered how to answer that question. The mean daemons wanted my head on a platter but weren't allowed to kill me because my ex-fiancé, who just happens to be the escaped prisoner I was currently hunting for asked them to scare me into submitting to him. Yeah, I could see how well that would go over in present company.

"They were a message. Someone is _really_ not happy with me at the moment." I looked at his face; he looked unimpressed by my explanation. "I seem to have that effect on people at present."

He got up from crouching near me and started pacing the office. He reminded me of a caged lion, all that power and grace trapped in this tiny little office. We already had a big cat here, so really it was me and two very big, very deadly animals. I noticed that was not on my list of 'things to panic about'. That's what a totally bizarre upbringing will do to a nice gal.

Speaking of Zionos, he's been strangely silent through our exchange. I glanced at the big cat sitting near my feet. His head was on my legs and he had his eyes closed. He was still angsty and I still ignored that.

Since I haven't gotten an explanation of why I was here and how the not-so-nice daemons got shooed away I sat up. My vision blurred again and the headache intensified. My arms felt heavier than lead and the rest of me wasn't much better.

"Eric. I hate to ask, but I'm currently in no condition to drive. Would you mind taking me home?" I made the best helpless face I could. I must have pulled it off since he stopped pacing and after looking at me, longer than I thought necessary, nodded.

Satisfied I started to get up, but remembered Lilliane and crashed back on the couch. I couldn't feel her on me. Whether that was because she wasn't or because I was as magicless as a human I didn't know.

"What happened to Lilliane? I held her in my hands when I was fighting." I'm sure my panic was unwarranted, but since I couldn't really access or see for myself if she was back on my neck, it made me nervous. Zagan had always coveted Lilliane.

Eric walked over to his desk and picked up my sword. Gasping in surprise I didn't realise I moved halfway to him before registering that Lilliane was neither glowing nor attacking Eric. This was not a development I expected, nevertheless relief coursed through me as I realised my blade was still my own. I steadied myself on Zi's head as mine began to swim, my movements were too soon and way too fast.

Eric must have sensed my astonishment because I felt confusion coming from him when he tried to explain what happened.

"I got here just as the daemons were closing ranks on you. I saw you fall. Zionos just disposed of what I can only assume was a feline daemon. We attacked them from opposite directions, the surprise was on our side, and they fled before picking up Lilliane." He explained to me, still holding my sword. In few times that we've practised, I've never let him touch her. Lilliane was tuned only to my energy; she absorbed it and used it. Nobody could touch her, and for those who did their hands would…well let's just say it's not a very pretty sight when someone who wasn't me picked her up. Before now that is. The fact that Eric could touch her only proved to me that whatever we had shared earlier tonight and the blood he gave me just now was more than a simple blood feeding.

_I agree. You seem to have shared some of your essence with him. Lilliane's reaction to him was what alerted me. Zagan was never able to touch her, and you had shared a lot more with him._ Trust Zi to listen in on my thoughts. He was right, damn it. In that moment, I understood another reason for the gifts that I was gifted with when I was born. I may not always know if the person in front of me is true, but they could see through to the soul and know if ultimately that person wanted to do me harm.

_This doesn't make it easier to accept Zi. I don't know if I can trust again. I'm scared. _I knew it wasn't entirely true, I trusted Eric, at least tonight. I wouldn't have made myself as vulnerable to him if I hadn't. Lying to yourself is hard when you have the truth detector staring back at you. A very large feline one truth detector who can read your thoughts.

I put my attention back on Eric who was looking on curiously, obviously aware of my internal conversation with Zi. I felt a flash of embracement for having excluded him. Although that can't be helped if one is having an internal monologue with an ava'h.

"Sorry Eric. Zi was filling me in on some other details." I told him, a small white lie to make me feel better.

He shrugged his shoulders carelessly, muscle rippling under the material.

"Are you ready to go home?"

Later I would have time to reflect on how nice that question sounded coming from him, but at the time I focused on trying to make my own way to the car while discretely leaning on Zi and keeping a close eye on Eric who was still carrying my sword.

Eric insisted on stopping at getting me some food. I tried to argue that I wasn't hungry or infirm and I probably had food at home. The haziness made sure that I couldn't remember that fact with any certainty at the moment. I'm sure if I was stronger I would have won the argument, but he just silently continued doing what he thought was best and after another half-hearted protest I let him. Besides, watching Zionos try and stay still enough in the back seat so that the attendant would think he was a stuffed toy cheered me up more than the food ever could. I've never seen a drive-through attendant more scared. A vampire buying burgers, and a large 'stuffed' jaguar lying in the back seat of the said vampire's car, meanwhile the human woman in the passenger's seat was looking abnormally pale and a complete mess. I discovered the fact that my pretty floral dress was in taters and my hair was a mess when we sat in the car and I found a mirror. I looked like I had been to hell and back in less than four hours. A first for me, since hell never left me looking like this, pissed off…sure, that was a regular occurrence after a visit there.

It occurred to me that I was in the middle of a scenario for one of those really lame jokes. You know: why are a vampire, a demi-goddess and a jaguar driving around at night? I was running through answer number eight when we pulled into my driveway. Luckily, my wards already recognised Eric, since I didn't even feel them at the moment; it would have been a poor thank you on my part to leave my rescuer at the gates. I felt like a towel that has just come out of the dryer, wrung out and slightly frazzled. The food helped, but it wasn't enough.

Eric surprised me again tonight; he had all but tucked me into bed. When we came in earlier he calmly put my food on the table and told me to eat. I dutifully, if a little sullenly followed orders, while he went into my bedroom. Even in my less than functional state I panicked. Then I realised that although Eric might present himself as an unscrupulous bastard, he wasn't… not really…not all the time. Moreover, I heard the sounds of running water and realised he was drawing me a bath.

He walked back into the living area a moment later to confirm the fact.

"I started your bath, I'm sure you'll feel better after one." Then his eyebrows drew together. "I realise you are unwell, but I cannot stay with you. Dawn will be soon. Is there a possibility of you drowning if you fall asleep?"

I thought about offering him my hospitality, but I knew better. It would mean he will get to see me naked in my bath, since the entrance into my safe room was through my bathroom. I may not be modest. Let's face it the man has seen just about all of me without clothes, but I was proud. He'd helped me enough tonight.

I made the effort to smile. I'm sure it looked slightly off though, since Eric wasn't smiling back.

"Thank you Eric. That is very…kind of you. I'll be fine. I never tested that theory, but I doubt it, after all I have Zi. Last time I checked my type of immortality didn't come with small print attached."

His lips twitched. "I'm just looking after my investments, lover. After all, I have a stake in seeing you healthy. We have some unfinished business to take care off." He waggled his eyebrows and sauntered out of the front door. You have to appreciate a man who can make an exit.

I managed to stay awake through the bath. Zi helped. He didn't leave my side until I was safely in my bed. I put on a good show for Eric, but I couldn't really fool Zi. He knew I was as weak as a newborn kitten and could barely sit up let alone walk or change clothes unaided. He channelled his energy into me the whole time we were with Eric and both of us were exhausted by the time I was clean.

As I crawled into bed, I finally let myself sink into the wonderful oblivion of sleep. This time by choice.

* * *

**So I've decided to mix up book/tv events a little. When I wrote this story it was meant to be based more on the books, but I'm not so sure it will be. I will be keeping Stan Davies as sheriff, Godric will make an appearance, but I'm not sure when or how as yet. I'm not going to tell you what happens so I don't spoil it.**

**Hope you don't mind my meddling.**

**Please review, I always enjoy hearing from everyone who reads. **


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything created by CH/AB, but Lexie & co are all mine.

* * *

_

"Lexie…sweetie…wake up!"

I was having one of those pleasant dreams. You know the ones that leave a big smile on your face even in your sleep. Everyone is happy and there are no clouds in the metaphorical sky or problems on the horizon. My life was the complete opposite of those dreams, so I liked to enjoy them whenever I could.

The annoying voice interrupted me again. I was eating a lovely cheesecake. It was blueberry. It was one of those cheesecakes that melted in your mouth and made your whole body tingle with pleasure, almost as good as sex. Not quite, but almost.

"Go away…I want to finish my cake." I mumbled.

The annoying voice was back with a vengeance. "Lexie, you need to get up. Its two hours until dark. You're leaving tomorrow. Hades' wants your ass as soon as it's awake, and I promised Pam I'd wake you up." That was Kassie's voice. Why was Kassie in my house?

Suddenly reality came crashing down, chasing away the remainders of my lovely dream and leaving my mouth tasting like last night's junk food Eric made me eat rather than the orgasmic dessert. Reality did suck sometimes.

I groaned and batter her away. "Ok…ok. Give me a minute." After a slight pause I heard Kassie make her way back into the living room. I must look like shit because usually I couldn't get rid of her that easily.

It really did take me another five minutes before I mustered up the energy to haul myself out of bed. My head wasn't swimming as it had been last night. My limbs stiff and achy, but moving. A good start.

I tried tapping my power but it was still too low for me to make anything but the weakest of connections. They really did a number on me last night. Anger fuelled my movements as I scrubbed myself awake under a cool shower. I put on a soft cotton short jumpsuit with a bikini top underneath. I wasn't sure what time it was right now, but it was hot, humid and I was in no mood to make pretty.

I was feeling a whole lot better as I put up my hair in a loose bun, although from the dark circles under my eyes I didn't look it, yet.

Cresil was lounging on one of the couches and Kassie in turn lounged on top of him. Both set of eyes glued to the tv that was showing Buffy re-runs.

Cute. Then cynicism hit. Just how long would that last? Both were such free spirits. Then again, who am I to put bad mojo on their relationship? It was their business, as long as both were happy my motto will be 'whatever'. Deep down I enjoyed watching them get so cosy. They were good together, really good.

Maybe we could do a double date when all my crap is wrapped up? Yeah, right.

"Hey, Cresil. Kass, did you get it?" I asked while I zoomed in on the steaming coffee calling to me from the kitchen counter.

Before passing out last night I sent her a message. There was only one thing that could restore me completely. Ambrosia. It was one of those myths that humans actually managed to get right, ambrosia did exist.

"Yep. You owe me big." She tried for a stern glare and then grinned. "Lucky for you that your best friend is a rebel. You also owe Killira for sneaking it out of the safe."

I winced. The list of people I owed has certainly gotten longer in the last couple of weeks. To think I wanted a quiet life. I padded to the fridge and got out the small metal container. A container that would be priceless should anyone realise it was on earth.

Ambrosia is a liquid distilled from flowers growing in Olympia, it was the only thing that got the gods drunk and demi-gods on a tripping higher than heaven. It had an interesting side-effects too, such as giving intense pleasure to those of less than pure blood variety.

Yes, poor me will be in ecstasy for a few hours, depending on how long the healing took. That aspect couldn't be helped. Lucky for me, there were a few hours left before sundown.

"Thanks Kassie. I'll see you guys in a bit. You'll hang around for a while right?" I asked as I slowly headed back to my room.

Cresil and Kassie both sported identical grins since they knew exactly why I was running back to my room. "Sure thing. We'll wait till you're…done." I wasn't about to deny them the ride.

"If you ruin my couch you are paying for a replacement." I called over my shoulder and closed the door on their snickers.

I bypassed the bed going straight through into my bathroom and up to the wall opposite the large window. I pressed on the tiles. A sequence only known to a few people since my list of trusted friends has grown ever shorter over the years.

The door slid inwards soundlessly and I walked into the dimly lit room. This was my sanctuary. It was located exactly in the middle of the house, my private space. A light-tight bedroom, a safe place should I need to hide something or someone. It was sound-proof, light-proof and most importantly magic proof.

The décor was sparse, but I didn't need much in here. A California king sized bed, two side tables and a small tall boy. No tv or any other electrical gadgets. The colours were earthy, soothing and gentle on the eye. I breathed in the cleansed air which was kept fresh by a special spell I learnt from an air daemon. Lucky it didn't need any power to keep it sustained; stale air is putrid at best.

Ambrosia has a strong effect on the divine; on half-breeds the effects are more intense. Either way the aftershocks of my drinking would drive every functioning body in twenty miles to a sexual orgy. Nobody was immune to the powerful aftershocks. Drinking it in here will dampen the effect to maybe less mileage, or less intensity. Never the less I knew my two guests will be having a rocking good time.

I settled in the middle of the bed, took a deep breath and upturned the vial. I felt the liquid burn a sweet path down my throat and spread like molten fire through my body. My limbs started to tingle as it entered my blood stream, and then the first orgasm hit me and I was well on the way of being lost to ecstasy in no time at all. Over…and over…and over.

I came to exactly one hour later, fully charged and clear headed. I've always thought it was weird how quickly one recovered. You spend an hour having the most intense pleasure possible and then, snap, you're focused, alert and ready for ass kicking. Not that I was complaining, about any of it. I really did enjoy the side effects of being able to heal and recharge this way. Ambrosia sure beats any and all of the human medicine, even daemon medicine.

My phone rang almost the instance I became aware of my surroundings again. I checked the screen. Eric. It dawned on me that he may have felt some of that through the bond. I doubt even the magic of my sanctum could have shielded him from my orgasmic rollercoaster.

"Hello Eric." My voice sounded calm, collected and more like I was in the middle of business than naked in a bed with a monster orgasm afterglow.

"Alessandra, is there a good reason for me being awake for the last hour and you not picking up the phone." He growled. Obviously Vikings didn't share well. It didn't take a telepath to figure out what he thought I was doing for the last hour. I rolled my eyes, not that he could see me.

"Did you enjoy it? I certainly did." Goading Eric was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I just couldn't seem to stop myself.

There was an angry hiss from the phone. Oh boy! My smile stretched.

"I don't have anyone here Eric." Silence answered, so I pushed on with my explanation. "Remember I said I was drained of my power yesterday." I paused to let him process this, I had a strong feeling Eric's higher brain functions were on slow gear at the moment, while his primal vampire nature was running rampant. "I needed to recover before tomorrow's flight, so I took something to speed up the process…it has some interesting side effects, don't you think?"

I waited for him to process this. I figured I'd cut the guy some slack. I woke him up with my pleasure after all, didn't pick up the phone, not that I could have anyway and not was as calm as a lake on a windless day. I was also trying to process how territorial Eric has gotten with me. I wasn't sure I liked that. I knew vampires were territorial. Hell, all supes were no matter their living status. I just wasn't sure if Eric was running before the train on this one. We haven't exactly declared anything. We haven't even had sex for crying out loud.

That got me on a whole different train of thought right there. Naked Eric.

Finally I heard his voice. Reserved, cold even. "You took something to make you recover faster and the side effects included you experiencing enough pleasure that it woke me up from day-sleep two hours before sundown." It wasn't a question, and yet it was. I had to weigh up my options quickly, could I really trust him? Zi thought so, but we've both been wrong before. Did I have a choice right now? Not if I didn't want him to lose trust in me.

I sighed. "I took ambrosia."

An intake of breath. Eric hardly ever breathes. He is a very well-adjusted vampire, not someone who will try and fit in because humans find the habit of not breathing disturbing. Breathing was something vampires did not need to do, so he didn't, usually. I felt a twinge of satisfaction at surprising him. To most it was a fable. Ambrosia was reserved for the exclusive crowds with special blood running in their veins for a reason. If you didn't have any in yours there would be some serious repercussions for drinking it. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but seriously, who the hell would want to risk that? Stupid question. I've witnessed more than enough attempts to get to it myself. That would be why I owed Killira and Kass a huge favour a piece.

"Tell me something. Did you help yourself cum?" His voice was low, sexual. The question sent a new wave of heat through a body that was supposed to be well satisfied. My cheeks got hot as well as other, more intimate parts. I didn't see that one coming. I should have, but I was too worried about his general reaction to feeling me so strongly instead of worrying about Eric making me all hot again.

"I am so not discussing that." I managed to choke out.

He chuckled. "I certainly did. It was wonderful. I was thinking of you. Naked." The words were laced with sex and I could almost see his cocky grin and smouldering eyes. I tried closing my own, but that only intensified the images of a naked Eric in his bed and pleasuring himself. If we continued on this topic I'll be in need of a few more releases before the end of this conversation.

I took a deep breath and focused. It was hard I tell you.

"Happy to provide the entertainment. Now, is there anything else? I've a busy night planned." Snippy, but I didn't care. I really did need to get a lot done tonight.

"That's the only thing that's stopping me from coming over and devouring you, lover. I enjoyed myself immensely, but it left me with a hunger for more." Surely one more time couldn't hurt?

I gulped, picturing the act of him devouring me. My body tightened with the need to let him. I felt for my power, it was back and fully charged. I let my own fingers stray as a naughty idea came into my head.

"Are you still in bed?" I tried to make the question sound sexy.

From the sound of his husky chuckle, I succeeded.

"Yes lover. I am in bed. Naked and all alone." The last came out almost sulky.

I purred in the telephone, not actual cat purring, more like sexy voice purring. "Excellent."

I hung up. Whatever he expected, me ending the call was probably the last thing on that list. I concentrated on Eric. It was easy to feel him through the bond between us. Even if we only exchanged blood once, we weren't exactly the average human-vampire pair. My inner goddess was possessive of this Viking, binding him close.

Sending out a tendril of my power towards him I got a sudden mental image of him in bed with an endearing scowl on his handsome face and his phone in his hand as he dialled me. Sure enough, my phone started to ring. I let it. I spread my essence through the room, letting my consciousness fill the space surrounding him to the point that I almost felt myself being there in the flesh, almost. What he experienced was a breath of cool air on his white broad chest. He tensed and cancelled the call. I bit his ear. A smile spread on his face. My ghostly fingers trailed down his strong arms as I kissed his throat and his head fell to the side.

"Lexie…" He groaned. I nibbled on his shoulder a little harder in answer. I could almost taste him, it was that real. This trick I picked up from a very creative air daemon I dated a few decades back, before my ex. I didn't want to think about that though. My ghost hands worked up his legs, it was very handy since there could be more than one pair of hands. I watched as Eric's eyes rolled back and he gave into the experience.

A mouth on the tip of him made him groan and thrust up in eagerness, a chuckled dissolving the solidity of the air before he could experience it around him. He growled out in frustration, hands gripping the silky red sheets before ripping them as I slowly lowered a ghostly mouth onto him. I licked, and bit, and touched all of him.

Then I could take no more teasing. I craved, needed the real thing.

He writhed in pleasure, his eyes hooded when I lowered myself onto him. The feel of him finally in me after all the teasing was exquisite, a sensory overload. I may have screamed. I was too pleasure ridden to be sure. His hands were on my thighs and I was on my back so fast it would have been impossible to see. My hands were pinned above my head by one of his. The other was exploring my curves, as his eyes burned into mine. Blue fire seared me, marking me all the way to my soul.

"You're here." The growl was so animalistic it was hardly recognisable as words.

My eyes flared wide at the look in his. "Would you like me to go?"

He snarled. "You are mine now, this is where you belong." His lips crashed down on mine in a maelstrom of possession. I gloried in the feeling. Sometimes giving up control was a good thing. Sometimes letting go made you hold on harder. And this time surrendering to the force that was Eric made me feel cherished, and wanted, and exactly where I was meant to be.

Then he shifted, grating himself into me. I whimpered as pleasure shot through me at the friction. I've craved this from the moment I met him, giving in now was bliss. He moved back.

"No..."It was a plea. I didn't care.

"Tell me." His eyes blazed with need and hunger, and I wondered at his self-control.

"What?" I'd tell him anything just to get the feeling of him stretching me back.

"I want to hear you say it."

"Eric, I…" Even in the haze of lust, I couldn't say that. Not after what happened. I stared back at him wishing with everything in me that I was the trusting person I had been before. Before I was burnt by love, before I learnt to close myself off. I did the only thing I could; I let my head fall to the side as I bared my neck to him. Full subservience. It was a declaration without words. The only thing I could give him right now.

His eyes dilated as they fixed on my pulse. He rolled his hips a little.

"You will say it." He bit as he sheathed himself in me and I cried out pleasure and pain mixing as we were both catapulted into the oblivion of bliss.

"Your dad is going to flip." Thank you Kassie, I can always rely on you to sugar coat things for me.

"I'll handle that when I get there," Looking at my watch to check the time and grimaced. "Probably sooner than I want to."

I had a few meetings planned in Underworld tonight. My short tryst with Eric put me behind schedule.

"I know you know, but you realise he is going to insist on you finally Calling." She barrelled on. We were in the living room, they finished enjoying my high about the same time I got back from Eric's. Cresil was casually leaning against the kitchen island and Kassie was making sandwiches for everyone. I was a terrible cook. I did try once I moved to earth, but there are some things even divine blood couldn't fix. My cooking was one of those. Killira usually cleaned and cooked even in this house. She came by every second day or so.

I grimaced at Kassie. Wanting to whine, but I knew there wasn't any point. She was right, damn it.

"You could always bind us." Cresil said, then quickly amended when he got a glare from both of us. "It was just a suggestion, don't bite my head off."

"If things come to that, I'll do what's necessary." I said. "You two have to stay out of trouble. I need to know you are safe."

I watched as Kassie's jaw clenched. "Alessandra Hellion-Brigant, we are not porcelain dolls, we are daemons."

Oh, my full name, she must be pissed. I figured pointing out that she was only half-daemon right now would make me enemy number one on her list. Wisely I kept my mouth shut and prayed for an interruption. Someone must have been listening because my phone rang and I lunged for in like a hungry lion on his last meal.

"What did you do to Eric? He is positively exuberant. It's disgusting." Pam's phone manner certainly needed help.

"Exuberant?" I asked slightly confused as to why it would be a bad thing.

"That is not the worst part." She continued without an explanation.

I stifled a giggle. I don't giggle, so unbecoming for a princess but Pam being so out of sorts over Eric's good mood was just hilarious.

"There is more?" I managed the question with dubious success. I was shacking from holding in my laughter.

"He's smiling at the vermin." It was said with so much disgust you'd think that Pam didn't think much of the patrons that brought business into Fangtasia. She didn't.

"I take it you aren't enjoying this aberration? I'd have thought his good mood would please you."

"There is good and there is sickeningly happy."

I rolled my eyes. "What makes you think it has anything to do with me?"

"You're the first interesting thing that's happened to him in decades. I don't think it's you, I know." Well, when you put it that way.

"Pammie, I don't kiss and tell." But I couldn't quite keep the smile out of my voice.

"Fine. If you won't tell me now I have a whole week in Dallas." Pam enjoyed games like this one.

"Yes, but I doubt you'll succeed."

She huffed. "We're staying in the same room." Kassie's hand flew to her mouth as she tried to hold back laughter.

"I'm not the one who'll be dead all day."

"I'll have the nights to get it out of you." She pointed out.

"You're biting off more than you can chew."

"I don't chew, darling, I suck. And I do it very well." She purred back. My mouth flew open at the blatant invitation. "I'm resting at your house, yes? I'll be there at three and I want that delightful blood I had last time." She hanged up with not so much as a thank you or a bye. That was Pam. I've been working on her small talk skills, but so far had little success.

I barely managed to put the phone down when I started laughing. Since both of my guests heard the full conversation and knew the full story it was a while before we got to the sandwiches.

I managed to see them off to New York before Kassie had a chance to continue with our discussion. I had no desire to bind either one of them to me. I shuddered at the thought of binding anyone to such an extent, which is why I still haven't done it, even if I should have had the four Akashai years ago. For all the bravado I showed in front of Kassie earlier I doubted I wasn't seriously worried about tonight. I doubted I'd be able to talk my way out of anything after what happened. Dad indulged me, but he never compromised on my safety. He's lost too many children. With a feeling of inevitability, I got ready for my audience with my father.

The main audience hall was imposing. It was meant to be. No, there weren't any decorative bones or skulls lying around. But the high ceiling and expensive furnishings were enough to make an impression of wealth and power. The only two seats in the whole room were on it. One remained empty nine months of the year, I've only ever seen it occupied three or four times. Persephone was not someone I cared to know well, she did try to have me killed more than once.

The walls were decorated sparsely tonight, the Palace itself changing the hangings to match my father's moods. From the lack of flammable material right now and the stifling air any idiot could figure out that he was not happy. I stood in front of the dais. Knowing where I'd be received beforehand I had put on a flowing red gown befitting my station and the formality. I was giving the vulture enough to talk about, my appearance and bearing would be flawless.

Hades was furious. Of course, I knew he would be, but seeing my dad in such a rage still made me more nervous than I should have been. I waited for him to finish his tirade as patiently as I could muster since patience was never a virtue I excelled at. He was currently in the middle of explaining to me why I would benefit from a year on hell's gate, again. I mentally rolled my eyes, he wouldn't and both of us knew it. Still the room was a little hotter than normal – dad's temper made it feel like a sauna- it was also a little emptier. The usual crowd of royal hanger ons and dignitaries knew what was good for them. The rest, they gathered like sharks that smelled blood. Was it possible that the favourite was now in disgrace? No. Never. But they didn't need to know that right now. The rumour may bring Zagan out of hiding. I couldn't miss the opportunity.

He finally paused and I jumped at the opening. "Father, I realise my actions may have been irresponsible. I should've had more protection but you must realise I didn't expect such a frontal assault in the mortal realm." Yeah, earth was the mortal realm seeing as most of the denizens of Underworld were long lived and harder to kill off.

"That is no excuse at all." He had turned a nice shade of lobster red by this point that matched the pattern on his shirt. I saw some more daemons edging out of the hearing chamber, smart of them really. "You've been remiss in your duties as a princess, and I've been remiss in my duties as your king, instead playing the indulgent father."

I couldn't stop my fists from clenching in an attempt to control my temper. I steeled myself for what was coming, bowing my head in supplication and hiding my face. The show was over, as much as I didn't want this moment to come, it was here. I would do as my father told me, no matter how much I hated it.

"You will do the Calling tonight, daughter. I will not have you so vulnerable ever again." His voice thundered through me but I saw a flicker of regret in his eyes. I knew he would order it. My jaw locked as I tried to keep any emotion off my face. My father and I didn't argue often, I felt a thread of shame, hating myself for it, but hating the fact that I let him down even more. He had to pull rank on me. I struggled to keep myself together.

"Yes, father." I said, and in one smooth movement went down on my knees resting my hands on my thighs. I knew he wanted to do this publicly, grudgingly I understood. This was a ritual that would have to be witnessed. The news had to spread that the princess finally Called. I just didn't have to like it, but no one seemed to ask for my opinion.

I turned my focus inside, finding the centre of my power. My surroundings fell away as I let my mind step into the vertex of raw magic in me. The surface emotions stilled as I let myself drift further. The sensation didn't burn; it soothed me, like an ocean breeze, leaving behind crystal clarity. I've always enjoyed going this deep inside myself, the feeling of my own self completely surrounding and engulfing my senses was indescribable. I gathered it and focused. The intricacies of this particular ritual were something that's been ingrained in my mind since childhood; the dangers of making even the smallest mistake were incomprehensible. The warriors that will be called tonight will be mine, body and soul, for eternity. Their attachment to me was on such a fundamental level that their minds would be forever altered, their priorities re-arranged. This was the reason I've denied the requests for this ceremony before. I didn't want to have that kind of responsibility. Even now I did not feel ready for it, but it had to be done. Zagan left me with no alternative.

I Called. It was really the only way to describe what I was doing. I let my power out of me, shimmering tentacles of raw energy seeking their prey. They would find the four souls and bring them to my side. The perfect combination of the elements between them will be my source of strength, and my defence. They will put my needs above their own, defend me when necessary and die for me if need be. They will be my four Akashai.

What none of us anticipated was that I would get a fifth.

Four daemons stood behind me when I rose and turned around. I only had brief glimpses of their faces before they went down on one knee in surrender. My heart cried out in bittersweet joy as I watched the practised movements, all of us familiar with the ritual. They've been brought up to know they one day could be bound to me. Most daemons were screened for powers on their acceptance into the warrior ranks. These four ranked on the top of the list. Their power in their respective elements would be almost as strong as my own.

It was the fifth person that caught my attention. The fifth Akashai that wasn't meant to be here. The one that stood proud amidst his kneeling companions. The one that was never supposed to be Called to me. He was not a daemon. He wasn't even alive.

Eric Northman, the Sheriff of Area 5, stood in front of me looking confused and defensive. I felt my heart skip a beat as I gazed into his astonished face, my own reflecting his shock. I barely heard the rippling wave of whispers around us, my mind refused to process what happened.

Then a voice thundered through the room. "Finish the binding." The command from my father brought me back to myself. "We will talk about this later."

Eric flicked his gaze up at the dais, his eyes widened as he finally figured out where he was. He looked back at me full of question. I pleaded with my eyes and through our bond for him to stay quiet. His head moved a fraction in what I hoped was acquiescence. Slightly reassured by his compliance I concentrated on the four kneeling daemons. Looking closer I drew in a shaky breath. The four were my father's top generals. These four have been around for a very long time, much longer than I, maybe even longer than Eric. I felt tears streaming down my face, now their fate was no longer theirs alone.

Fire burned hottest. As Lucifer spoke the ancient phrase of binding in a language only known to gods I felt the brand pierce my skin. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain as I accepted the first mark.

Water cooled the fire as Vepar bound himself to me. I heard the song of the sea as I accepted.

Air swirled around me as Samael spoke the words. I felt my hair flying in the currents as I accepted.

Earth smelled wholesome and sweet as Azazel pledged. I smelled the green lush fields and freshly turned soil as I accepted.

Each element burning a pattern in my skin, the pentagram tattoo on my shoulder grew with each one of their pledges. I felt it form, like a living thing. Their powers and lives bound irrevocably to mine.

When we were done the freshly made tattoo burned under my skin. Power still too new, untried and…incomplete. I kept my silence; I didn't want to bind Eric to me now. No more than we were bound already. Not without his full knowledge and consent. Not without more information. Not without his acceptance. I would suffer the incomplete pentagram, what I had would be enough for now.

I stared at the vampire in front of me. Eric's back was to me as he gazed out of the window. Arms down his sides, fists clenched. His shoulders were tense, his whole frame rigid as he took in the sight before him. There was so much I wanted to say, to explain. The words chocked me and I just stared at him, my chest hurting from him closing off the bond between us. We were finally out of the ceremonial room and in my private quarters.

I'd dismissed the Akashai, we'll have to form a closer connection eventually, but right now I had to fix this mess. The pain in me swirled and I wrapped my arms around myself. It didn't help.

My father left us to talk, understanding I needed space. He knew what it had cost me. Oh, he wasn't happy. Far from it. I was sure I'd be hearing more than a 'we will discuss it later' when I sorted out things with Eric and took him home. That was one conversation I wasn't looking forward to. Make that two. The one I was about to start now was making my head hurt and my stomach do the cancan. That's without me having uttered a word. Hell and damnation!

"Eric." His name was all I could say and even that was barely a breath of air between my lips. I had no idea why he was Called, I had even less of an idea how it could have happened. My only thought was that he would surely be mad as hell at me for this.

"What's going on Alessandra?" He asked his voice deceptively mild. The volcano of feelings I knew must be there kept locked under his iron control.

"You seem to have answered my Call. I don't know why or how for that matter, but you have answered as one of the Akashai do." I blurted out. His shoulders stayed rigid. "When the first half-divine child was born they were deemed too fragile. The child had too many enemies. Others seeking revenge on his parents, power over others and control of the power that child carried. The Parthenon decreed a necessary need to form a protective circle around the child and so the Akashai were born. Well, not necessarily born, more Called. It is a power that each child, like me, is born with. I chose not to use mine until tonight." I took a deep breath, hoping he would understand I had no meant for him to be here. "Hades forced my hand, because of Zagan and the attack. I could not continue without them, it was a weakness I could not ignore anymore."

I drew in a breath and held it. I felt like I was holding it for an eternity. He stared out of my window, looking at the sunlit landscape of Underworld.

"I have not seen sunlight in over one thousand years. I see it tonight thanks to you." His voice was quiet, reverent, and truly awed by what he was seeing. It must have shaken him to his very core, to be here, during the day as it was now. "I've seen many things during the time I've spent on earth, but this is nothing like I've ever known." He paused to switch his gaze onto me. I felt trapped in his blue eyes, falling into their depths. My breath spilled out of me and I felt my heart thunder. "I do not understand the bond we share. I assume it was that which called me here tonight… I have strange… feelings for you. For the first time in over one thousand years, I feel a need to protect someone other than myself. It is a strange idea for a vampire."

I was too scared to speak. Scared to think. All I could see were the ice blue eyes in the handsome face of the vampire standing in front of me. The vampire who has shared with me things he has not told a single being before. The vampire I have come to care for, despite my resistance to the idea. My missing link, my fifth Akashai.

"I understand you didn't mean for this to happen. I understand your protection is incomplete, but I can't bow down to anyone to the extent you are asking. I can't pledge my life such as it is, to you. I am not sure I can keep such a pledge."

I nodded. A lonely tear trailed down my cheek. I felt the sorrow of the unfinished pentagram, like a child's mind not understanding why it was that way. It really did feel alive on my back. I had a look, earlier, at the intricate pattern on my shoulder, the highest peak was missing. Incomplete.

"Eric, I will not force this on you." I was resolute on this. It would mean my protection was incomplete but I could not ask him for something he wasn't willing to give. "I could not. If I knew that the blood we exchanged would bring us to this point…" How do I finish this, we were both to blame for that, passion and danger driving us both to the point of exchange. Would I do things differently knowing what I knew now?

He must have felt my misery because he continued.

"This doesn't mean I won't, but I need time, lover. I have not given up on the idea of us together. What is between us is something special… unique. It is an unknown. I want to understand what we share now, before we continue. I do not appreciate feeling control slip through my fingers." His arms went around me in a comforting gesture. We were so similar. He didn't force me before, I wouldn't do it now. Some things could not, would not be forced, they must be given freely.

He kissed me gently at first, then with growing hunger. I didn't hesitate to kiss him back. The appetite for pleasure erasing any current worry occupying my mind, I revelled in our kiss. My heart warming with its unspoken message, we will figure things out. I felt his lips move away and whisper softly to me. "It would seem I have absolutely no control when it comes to you."

He claimed my mouth again, this time as a conqueror, branding me with his invisible brand. The pentagram on my body may not be complete, but there was little doubt in my mind that Eric Northman considered me his, in every conceivable way.

For the second time in one night I wished that we had more time to indulge in the oblivion of each other.

* * *

_Please R&R, I'd love to hear from you._


	12. Chapter 12

_So this chapter is a little on the shorter side than what I normally write. I had to split it into to two because the original was almost 11.5k, and way too long. I'll try and get part two up soon. :) _

_You will also notice parts of Book/True Blood here, I hope I don't bore you with my take on things as I try to marry up the two worlds to my own. _

_Thank you for your reviews. They mean a lot! Oh, and, if you want to read updates a little bit quicker, since I post on my blog before I post here, check out mavrosal . wordpress . com _

_Disclaimer: I don't own SVM/TB, but I do own Lexie & Co. _

I dropped Eric off at Fangtasia. It was late enough that the bar was already closed which meant I could pop in without anyone raising an eyebrow. Well, almost anyone. I heard someone clear their throat behind us. I spun around in full attack mode. Edgy? Who, me? Nah.

"Why aren't I surprised to see you two together? Your disappearance caused quite an uproar, Eric. We had a bar full of vermin to glamour thanks to that little trick." She took the opportunity to send me a glare. "I assume you two were having wild monkey sex. Is that the right phrase?" Pam was leaning against the bar. She already changed out of her Dracula gear and wore a beautiful dusty pink velour tracksuit. Soccer mum and vampire mixed into one. How Pam.

I restrained my own frustrated snarl. I'd give anything for all of this to be a big joke to annoy Pam. That was exactly what I've wanted to do with Eric all night. Oh hell, if it wasn't for all the complications in our lives I'm sure we would have been doing what Pam predicted. As it was I was about to be flayed alive by my dad.

Opting for a glare I didn't comment. Eric did not seem mildly disturbed by the possible mental pictures that statement implied.

"We already did that earlier. Thanks for asking, Pam." He said, the picture of ease. I didn't think he was really as calm as appeared. The fact that the only two others in the room with him could feel his emotions did make the mask somewhat redundant. "You will be interested to know that I saw sunshine."

That got her attention. "How?"

He grinned. I genuine grin. "Underworld."

That one word turned Pam into something I would have nightmares about for a while. She was happy. A happy Pam is scary. I stared in horror as she bounced over to Eric like a teenager overdosing on hormones and started firing questions. I think Eric welcomed the distraction. He may or may not choose to share everything with her. Pam was shrwed enough to realise that we weren't lovey dovey right now and ask questions. It was his choice.

I interrupted the interrogation long enough to let her know I'll be at her house before dawn (I did get the address while I had her attention) to deliver her and her stuff to mine for pick-up. I still needed to pack my bags. Hopefully Killira took care of that headache.

The reluctance I felt about this conversation showed. My back was tense and I couldn't seem to stop clenching my fists. The only thing about me that wasn't strained was my face. Calm and serene, if anyone who didn't know me that well didn't notice that the rest of me was wired they'd think I was about to walk in for a pleasant chat. If only that were true.

I knocked on the big double doors of dad's office mentally sending a heads up that things were about to get hot ugly and quickly. The Palace would know what needed to be done in order to ensure that nothing was damaged by the shows of temper.

"Come in." Steel. That's what his voice sounded like. Hot steel.

I braced myself for the second talking to of the night. There really wasn't much else I could do. The mess was mine. Zionos gave me an affectionate lick on my back. He's been silent for most of the night letting me blunder through without his usual sarcastic commentaries. It was one of his more appealing traits. I appreciated the space. I'd talk to him when I was good and ready. Right now, I had too much to think about.

Dad sat behind his desk when I walked in. He was reading something in front of him and didn't even look up as I made my way across the room to the large wooden chairs in front of him. They were comfortable and looked like those gorgeous antique chairs with high backs and side headrests. The material that covered them was beautiful azure blue with large geometric patterns in different shades. Flammable. Someone wasn't taking my warning seriously.

"You wanted to see me?" Attitude was something I hid behind very well. I sat in one of the chairs crossing my legs and slouching back into it. Might as well make myself comfortable while I can. They may not last the night. Heck, they may not last five minutes. I really did like the chairs, I thought with regret.

He didn't even look up as he spoke. His voice was mild, but I felt sudden warmth hit my skin. "Don't play coy with me daughter."

"I wasn't planning to, father. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? I did the Call. I have my Akashai now."

His eyes pinned me in place as he looked up. "You called five. Five! And that's not the worst of it."

"Oh." I said. I felt my own temper spiking. I wasn't about to let him slander Eric. We didn't disagree a lot, but there was always room for a first time. Like my evening wasn't already in the seventh hell. "Is there something wrong with the fifth?"

He took a moment to assess my mood, he can read me like a book most days. The fact that he missed things when I walked in showed how preoccupied he was with the whole situation. The air cooled around us and when he did speak it was in a milder tone. "There is nothing wrong with him, but I do wonder how you managed to call him."

I shrugged my shoulders, the material of the seat whispered across my skin. "I have no idea. Theories, yes, but nothing concrete."

Dad leaned back as he got comfortable. "And those are?"

"We exchanged blood," I said, and braced myself. Throwing a light shield around me and the two chairs. I really did like them. Dad was going to miss them if they burnt to a crisp.

The blast of heat that hit me was scorching and I patted myself on the back for thinking of putting up the shield. "YOU WHAT?" The roar that accompanied the blast shook the walls.

"We bit hard enough to break the skin and sucked-"

"I know what you meant. What I want to know is why? You are aware of the repercussions of exchanging with a vampire?" I nodded. "Then what were you thinking?"

Agitation hit me. "I wasn't. I was half conscious. I needed help. He was there and worried about me. I wasn't sure when, or if, the daemons would come back. Eric save my arse last night. He made sure I healed as best as he could manage. He even insisted I ate." He was about to interrupt but I glared. "I know it wouldn't have come to that if I had Called earlier. I didn't. The end." I would have smiled at the memory of Eric's worried tone as he spoke to the doctor thinking I couldn't hear him. I didn't. Dad was sure to incinerate something if I did. He wasn't stupid, neither was I. I had a big thing for Mr Undead and Gorgeous.

"You do realise this isn't something that will wear off?"

"Dad." My hands clenched the armrests. I suspected after the quickness of the bonding.

"You two are bonded. Your blood will not come out of his system, ever, and he may well be invulnerable to a lot of the usual things vampires find fatal."

I lurched forward, colour draining from my face faster than a pixie deliver line. "How?" Not that I begrudged Eric his better health plan. I just didn't know if he'd appreciate it, that's all.

He didn't look happy. "You Called him. He will gain from you, as you will gain from him." Then he shook his head a disgusted look on his face. "Although what the hell you can possibly gain from a vampire is beyond me."

"Well that's just bloody perfect." I groaned. The picture of me needing to drink blood made my stomach lurch.

Oh... I was in deeper in this nightmare than I realised.

It was two in the afternoon. I had a shiny black Anibus minivan parked in front of my house, and the efficient, somewhat morose, delivery people were in the process of loading our baggage into it. I should really say my baggage.

Pam was already in her gorgeous coffin. The shiny chrome black exterior hid a positive pastel haven inside. She showed it off to me last night after I express delivered it to my house, along with her five suitcases, two garment bags, a carry-on – why would you need one if your dead on the flight- and make-up case.

You can take the girl out of her era, but you can never change her travelling style, and Pam liked to travel in style. I had a modest sized suitcase and no carry-on. Then again, I could always come pop back for more.

The flight was uneventful. I even managed a nap. I hadn't stopped since I woke up yesterday, so the few hours I got helped refresh me. The particulars of human travelling fascinated me, I've never been on an plane before. I watched the safety demonstration with a mixture of exuberance and alarm. They considered that yellow blow up plastic the safest measure possible during a crash? It made me appreciate my own inbuilt mode of transportation. If it came to that, I'd be out of there in a blink. And that's with Pam and our luggage. She'd hate me until death if I didn't save that new Dior couture dress she packed.

We landed in Dallas as the sun was setting and I silently thanked whomever of my cousins, or aunts, mused me into my choice of outfit. A gorgeous little white number with lovely sunflowers all over it. The dress reached just below mid-thigh, and it was a heavenly thin cotton. Perfect for the smouldering heat. The five inch platform gladiator sandals in white with pretty pink stones all over the front were comfortable and stylish, which was the idea.

I was watching Pam's coffin being unloaded when Zionos growled. My shields snapped up in place quick enough, and I looked around for any signs of danger. It was a priest. What the hell is he doing in the Anibus hanger was beyond me. Was there someone who was actually dead, dead on that plane? I didn't remember smelling decay, and you'd think that I would on a five hour flight with recycled air. No matter how well they filter, the smell of death always lingers.

"Can I be of service to you? I couldn't help but notice your situation." The small man said. What situation? Then I looked to my left, I was standing with a veritable mountain of luggage and no way to move it. Maybe he was trying to be helpful. I did look like a nice, wholesome person in this outfit. I checked him over again. He was rather short and didn't look very strong. How could he possible be of service? He would have trouble lifting even the smallest suitcase, besides we had the Anibus people for that. What situation?

"My situation?" I asked. Pam's coffin was on the ground now and surrounded by a couple of guards as well as the workers that toed it towards me.

It was getting to twilight. The lights around the airport have come on and I knew Pam would be rising very soon. She detested sleeping in coffins, even pretty pink ones, but it was the faster way to travel. Why kill precious time when you could do it all while sleeping? Something she told me last night as she was climbing into her pink box. I was hoping she would come out before we had to leave the airport. There was all that paperwork that we needed to take care off and I had absolutely no clues where to start.

"Yes. I'm very sorry." His voice was grating on my nerves.

I looked at my unwanted companion. How did he get here? Was he expecting one of the vampires of the flight as well? I gave him a long stare, watched as more sweat formed on his forehead.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well," He said nodding his head towards Pam's coffin. "Your bereavement. Was it a loved one?" I was thinking he must have a few loose bolts in his head. Either that or the glasses he was wearing were making him more blind, it was extremely hard to miss the jackal on the tail of our airplane. The jackal was a company logo for Anibus Air. Even I knew about them, and I was from Underworld. I had to wonder if the inspiration behind the jackal's head came from one of dad's daemons. It was real possibility, since I knew for a fact the god looked nothing like what his faithful followers depictions of him through the centuries.

He was edging closer to me. Zionos started to shift on my back. "Why else would I be standing here?"

I had to put up strong shields while on the plane in order that I could get some peace from the constant thought stream. For a vampire airline there sure were a lot of humans on our plane. He was a louder broadcaster, he was getting through my shields. He was extremely nervous about the approaching nightfall. He was also worrying about his friends being were they were supposed to be.

"Your husband maybe?' He asked. His hand snaking around my arm. Why was he getting so close? I had no idea about human religious customs, it never came up during human religion 101. We generally covered broader subjects than interaction between holy people and the masses. I let his hand stay there, there wasn't much he could do if I decided to break his hold anyway and the closer contact gave me more clarity on his thoughts. For all the loudness of his broadcasting, he didn't actually think anything meaningful. How I wished people thought clearly. His brain too full of anxiety. His eyes were darting around checking what all the personnel were doing. Zi shifted again I mentally pushed him back. If I couldn't handle one lone human I'd give up godhood.

"No, my girlfriend." I told him, infusing the word with all the sexual innuendo I could muster.

The sun has finally slid behind the horizon. My mood picked up, I was going to get Pam to deal with the papers after all. The Anibus crew started to prepare for the awakening of their patrons. Something that looked like a lot of bowing and scraping. I grinned at the idiocy, but vampires did enjoy the grovelling. Spending all those millennia in obscurity obviously did nothing to lessen their egos.

I looked back at the priest then down at the hold he had on my arm wondering if he was going to let go. I started to move away with every intention of avoiding a confrontation. His hand tightened on my arm. Now why would I think that this would be easy?

When he noticed the elaborate worshipping ritual at the coffin his heartbeat sped up. The sweat started pouring down his face. He positively reeked of fear.

"Help me, Jesus!" He said. I was about to point out that Jesus was recuperating in Underworld. 'He is still traumatised' and the all you can eat buffets, bingo nights and activity days had nothing to do with it. I wasn't really worried about my safety per say. I knew Pam would be up in a minute or two, she told me she was a slow waker. Not that I needed her help, really, but I wanted to figure out what this guy wanted. I needed the contact between our skin for that. So far his intentions were to take me inside, where he had reinforcement. Why though, it just didn't make sense.

I half heartedly tried to pull away, knowing he would expect me to. The security men were still watching the vampire coffins. Nobody paid us the slightest bit of attention. Obviously Anibus' policy was to concentrate on the well being of their undead customers.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked. I admit I was curious as to why he wanted me specifically.

_Curioisity killed the cat. _Zi purred.

I snorted mentally. _Speaking in generalities, or am I in need of making some arrangements?_ There was a way for an ava'h to die. It wasn't pleasant for either the ava'h or the person they were attached to, but it could be done.

His answer in the form of a small bite on my back was sure to leave a mark, for at least a minute or two.

"Away from those evil creatures." The priests voice was filled with panic. Maybe he was just afraid of vampires, many people were.

As we got near to the door. I realised two things. Pam was a _really_ slow riser and I may need some help if he really did have reinforcements. I couldn't give away the fact that I could snap this guy into two pieces quicker than a human eye could follow my movements. These guys were from the Fellowship, their brains my turn to mush if they ever found out that not only did God exist, for real, he had a bunch of relatives, and I was one of them. Of course, we were talking about different Gods, I've never met the Christian one, Jesus was cool, but Jesus was sure no God. He was just a smart man, who happened to know when he walked onto a good thing.

"Pam!" I tried to sound panicked so she would get her butt in gear. The priest pushed harder, I started to dig in my heels for real, to buy myself a few extra seconds before we hit the door. Pam sat up as the priest started to turn the handle. It took her lest than a second to find me with her eyes and take in the scene. The priest bolted through the door, leaving me staggering, Lucky my 'girlfriend' came to the rescue in time.

"Lexie, you couldn't wait till I was properly awake to get into trouble?" She asked with a fangy smile. My close proximity and her evening hunger were the reasons she was holding me too tight and smelling my neck. At least I hoped.

"Good evening to you too darling." I greeted her with the same amount of sarcasm. "Generally trouble finds me, not the other way around. Let go, Pam, you can feed later and definitely not from me." I added the last part to snap her out of her giddy mood.

She pouted. She was wearing a pretty pink sundress. She looked like a blond prom queen with fangs. Pam was turned when she was in her early twenties, while her usually sober and gothic attires hid the youthfulness of her features, this dress highlighted them. We had agreed on outfits before she rested last night and since I really wanted to wear this dress, she grudgingly pulled out hers. Who would have thought I'd be outfit matching with a vampire?

She stepped away from me after taking in another breath. Her mouth was in a pout that would do any kid justice.

"Where you trying to find me a meal?" She asked suddenly remembering about the predicament she found me in. About time! I gave her a bit of time to replay things in her head, it's what I'd have been doing if I was her. Another inhale, this time not of me made her swear under her breath in Italian. "Lexie, I prefer my food to be willing and female, not to say anything about stink." She meant the perspiration of my new friend, it still lingered in the air. We both started walking back to the luggage. Clearly whomever was interested in me was long gone. As long as they weren't daemons I had nothing to worry about.

After hooking her arm through mine Pam was looking at me expectantly.

"He was trying kidnap me." I said in hushed tones. There were other vampires around us now. When I say hushed, I mean I was quiet enough that a vampire standing five feet away wouldn't hear me. I've had lots of practise with daemons.

"Why on earth would he do that?" She looked astonished. In her books a human was below notice, used for either sex, play or menial labour. I was pretending to be human.

"Because he worked for the Fellowship."

"Damn vermin." Her fangs were back out again. I sniggered at her reaction, in total agreement with its sentiment.

Our bags hadn't moved and I looked around, the humans were staring. At us. We were causing quiet a distraction for the Anibus personnel. We were held each other in a very friendly fashion. They were all male. Well, you get the idea.

"Umm…Pam, can we discuss this later?" I asked.

She looked at me in confusion, looked around, and laughed. She also let go, which was a good thing. I notices some tents popping up, not that I was paying any attention to that kind of thing.

The paper work didn't take long and I was paying close attention. I may have to do this again and next time, knowing my luck, we'd land during the day.

"How was your flight, Lexie?" she asked while we headed over to the limo.

"With the exception of welcome bandwagon very uneventful."

She chuckled. "You are so much trouble."

I guess she meant that as a compliment.

Our bags were all loaded and we drove off to the hotel in style. Pam's coffin would arrive later, courtesy of Anibus Air. We talked about our entertainment plans for the trip. I knew Pam didn't forget about the incident with the priest. She filed it away in her vault for later. Pam never forgot anything. I wasn't sure if it was something she could always do, even as a human, or if it was a natural enhancement, gift, of her vampiric nature.

We pulled up at our hotel. The driver started unloading our baggage, it took him a while. He was thinking that we must have come to stay for a while. I thought that for two women it was excessive. It would have been, but one of us was Pam. The uniformed bellboy was already loading the hoard of Gucci suitcases onto his rolling cart. When we came closer he turned towards us, clearly nervous.

"Welcome to Silent Shore Hotel, I'll…" His hands were trembling. He was young, no more than eighteen. I'm sure we were rather intimidating. "I'll be your porter." He finished weakly.

I skimmed his brain and was shocked to find out he was a telepath. Very underdeveloped telepath, his lack of organisational abilities astonished me. He must have a small percentage of divine blood in his family tree. Telepathy popped up occasionally in divine descendants. Along with other psychic and physical gifts, that came along with the blessed heritage.

"Thank you." I gave the boy a sweet smile, it only made him more frightened. I tried. He was living in heavy denial about his gifts, maybe I could help him with that. If he wanted help.

"I'll just follow you with the luggage." He mumbled. Pam gave him a dismissing look, clearly she was not a peoples person. I need to have at talk to her about that. Making people more nervous surely made them less productive. Barry was nervous because he couldn't read our minds. No, my mind since Pam was undead.

We checked in with no problems, Pam was putting away the Fangtasia credit card –the perks of going on an all expense business trip- back in her wallet as another vampire approached us.

"Pamela Ravenscroft? From Louisiana?" She asked. Second in command to Area 5 Sherriff of Lousiana would be too much of a mouthful. She had dark coloured hair styled up in an elaborate fashion. He dress was feminine but business like. The dark chocolate eyes perceptive.

"Yes." Pam said with a small nod.

I couldn't help but notice Pam's silent perusal of our new companion. From the light in her icy blues I decided that she liked what she saw. Hell, I liked our new friend and I was decidedly heterosexual.

"This is the woman." She switched her cool gaze to me.

"This is my companion and co-worker, Alessadnra Hellion." Pam said. Dropping the hyphen in my last name. Too many people knew about the Brigant family name and what it represented.

We agreed that it would be better for us to pretend I was involved with Pam. Eric was not happy with this plan; Pam was excited to have so much useful ammunition. I just knew she was going to have a blast with it.

"I am Isabel Beaumont," she said "and after you have taken your luggage up to the room and took care of your personal needs, you are to come with me."

Pam raised one eyebrow in amusement and motioned for me to follow. I went with her like the obedient little human, this was grating my nerves already and we've barely started.

I was somewhat relieved to discover that our suite did have more than one bed. In fact it had two bedrooms and a living area with a nice sized plasma tv mounted on the wall.

Pam had initially wanted to share one room. The glare from me and a severe reprimand from Eric put an end to that subject.

I materialised one of the daemon bloods and shoved it into the microwave for Pam. I had some stocked in my house, after all I did promise. Brining them on the plane would have been a little difficult, since they were not readily available in the human world. So I resorted to one of my tricks, I try not to over use this one too often, you never know where the object may come from. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Pam pout as she watched me.

"I told you I won't feed you." I said to while we waited for it to ding. "Besides, Pam, you know Eric doesn't share well." I wasn't sure how much Eric told her, but I wasn't about to risk sharing blood with Pam unless it was a life or death situation.

The microwave signalled that the blood was ready and Pam got her dinner out. I started to unzip my dress on the way to the bedroom, we needed to change and do it quickly. I wanted a shower after all that travel. From the bloody smile and fangs I caught sight of in the reflection of the mirror I passed by I gathered that she was enjoying the show. As I entered the room I let the dress drop to the floor. The lacy white set under it contrasted beautifully against my tan. I had a bit of time to laze around this morning.

Behind me I heard chocking sounds. I smiled despite myself. Taking the moment to appreciate the compliment.

"Lexie…you are wearing…a thong?" Pam managed to choke out.

"I am." I told her over my shoulder. She had the funniest look on her face. I was enjoying watching Pam squirm.

Her eyes blazing a trail up and down my body.

"You are such a tease." Pam sighed. I realised we were going to have company tonight. Giving myself a mental pat on the back for having such foresight, I went ahead and had a quick shower as we waited for our bags.

The dress I picked out for tonight was made from green silk. It was gorgeous. Showing a tasteful amount of cleavage and falling mid calf. Two seams ran down the front and finished off with slits that went high up my legs, so when I walked my legs were on display. The effect was lovely. I pulled on a pair of purple round-toe platform pumps.

"So are you going to elaborate on your little adventure at the airport?" Pam said as she finished off the blood. She had managed to change sometime after the arrival or out bags and before I walked out of the bathroom. It was a very fast shower, I didn't want to make Isabel wait long, but Pam still looked perfectly well groomed. Bitch.

Grabbing my make-up bag I headed to the bathroom in my room, I did start the microwave on a second bottle for Pam on my way.

"They have a mole at the vampire nest. They knew about our arrival. Although the guy didn't know who I was, just that it was important he try and kidnap me." I told her while touching up my mascara. Pam was beside me instantly, her eyes glittering dangerously.

"You are saying that the local nest has been compromised?" she asked.

I nodded before continuing. "From what I gathered in the guy's mind it was only placed there recently, by someone who was already familiar with and accepted in the nest. It must be one of pets." The only logical answer, just the question of who's pet, the one who brought a traitor into their midst was going to be punished. I was under no illusion on this subject. Vampires were brutal by nature, I couldn't really fault them for it. I was not better when in came to protecting those I held dear.

"Was there anything else?" She said, her face thoughtful as she processed the information. Pam would figure out how to use this to our advantage, she was a master player in the field of vampire politics. I trusted her to have my back in this arena, if for no other reason than to protect one of her master's assets.

"The Fellowship has the missing vampire. He was in on the kidnapping. I also know where they are holding the vampire, but there is no way I can act on any of this without revealing too much tonight." I told her reluctantly. I put the last pin in my hair and turned my head a few times to make sure it looked good from all angles. The hair was fixed in a lovely loose bun at the nape of my neck making me look elegant and sexy at the same time. "Ok, I'm done. Let me grab a bag and we can head off." Pam looked at me, her face impassive but there was murder in her eyes. She would want revenge, because nothing was higher on her list of priorities than loyalty, hers lay with her own kind. She would risk outing me to the nest tonight if it helped, and I wouldn't blame her one little bit because I understood.

"Don't take the bag, just the room key." She said as she too headed out to the living room.

I stopped, confused.

"Where am I going to put it if I don't have a bag?"

Throwing me a sultry look over her shoulder, she said. "Oh, I don't know…be creative."

I cast a parting glance at my pretty purse, before hiking my skirt and slipping the key under the band of my panties. Zi chuckled. I growled at him as I hurried out to catch up.


	13. Chapter 13

_First of all I wanted to say hi. *waves *_

_I'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone for reviews, faves and alerts. It's always a pleasure to hear from you guys and know that my story is being read and liked. _

_So this is going to be my last update from Australia, that's right, I'm finally flying out on thursday. Very excited, and very stressful. _

_And by the way, this a/n is a bitch to type since my mother talked me into getting some very pretty, but incredibly long, and frustratingly annoying, nails done. Urgh, I may need to bang my head against a few walls for allowing such stupidity. Writing with these things is tough I tell ya. I'm hoping to get used to the soon._

_I hope you enjoy the chapter. I've not sure how happy I am with it, but I'm posting it anyway. Please excuse me if there are any major mistakes, cannon/grammar or otherwise._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing save Lexie and Co._

_

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Isabel was in the same place we left her. She was obviously suspended in downtime, something I've always wished I could do. If it wasn't for the fact that her skin was darker than marble I'd have said she was part of the lobby decor.

She reminded me of the royal guards in Underworld. I tried to picture her reaction to some of the more adventurous antics I tried out on them as a child. Pam shot me a warning look and I tried to wipe my face clean of expression; my mischievous thoughts must have been showing.

Sensing our approach Isabel's eyes flickered our way and she made a flowing motion with her hand.

"Come," she said, and glided out the main door. We followed along like well trained puppies.

I'll be the first one to admit that I have a weakness for nice cars. Isabel's was a shiny black Lexus. It was gorgeous, and had all the latest gadgets that my fingers were itching to play with. I held back with great restraint. For once I didn't mind playing human and being delegated to the back seat, since doing something so familiar would definitely put me on Isabel's shit list. Somewhere I didn't really want to be right now.

While I didn't necessarily pay attention when Pam started to do the social dance, there was apoint when Isabel remembered about me and started to point out things of interest. I tried to show the proper amount of enthusiasm as she described the local landmarks with all the enthusiasm of a dead monkey. Obviously this part of the welcoming package deal was as unpleasant for her to full fill as for me to stay polite through. Thankfully we left the interesting part of town behind rather quickly and were all able to drop the pretence of giving a shit about the human in the car.

Pam played her role to perfection, completely ignoring me in favour of the vampire. Isabel was female and noticeably good looking, although from I didn't think she was into girls, that didn't stop Pam from trying to persuade her. Whether Pam was really interested or putting on an act was something that will remain I didn't really want to delve more than necessarily into. Ignorance was bliss, someone had said that, I firmly believed that in some situations it was a firm rule to stick by.

The house we pulled up at was a monstrosity on a minuscule block of land. As we got out of the car I mentally cast out to see what and who was waiting for us. I smoothed my dress to giving myself a chance to assess the situation we were walking into. Predictably, the house was mostly full of vampires, their mental voids easily recognisable in different parts of the house in front of me.

The light over the door was on, so I could tell the house was of beige brick with white trim. The light, too, was for my benefit, any vampire could see far better than the sharpest-eyed human. Isabel led the way to the front door, which was framed in graduating arches of brick. There was a tasteful wreath of grapevines and dried flowers on the door, which almost disguised the peep-hole: this was clever mainstreaming. The vampire that owned it did a great job of blending into the neighbourhood.

As Isabel led us through the house I counted four in the main room, onto which the front door opened, and there were two in the hall and at least six in loitering in the area between what looked to be a casual family area and the kitchen, which seemed to be outfitted to mass produce food it was that big. Obviously whomever bought the place was looking at it's re-sale value. All the undead need is a refrigerator, for the synthetic blood, and a microwave, to heat it up. What are they going to cook?

I realised, a little slow on the uptake, that with a large nest like the one here there would be live-in food. They needed the facilities for the humans that stayed there. After all well feed food meant a good dinner.

We walked into the dining room, there were a few more vampires spread around the room talking in hushed whispers, and some even sat at the large table in front of us.

Pam was tense. She hid it well, but I've gotten to know her better in the last month we've associated. Her back was straighter than usual and I could almost see the coiled tension rolling through her, every movement she made seemed enhanced by the undertone of contained violence. She wasn't the oldest vampire in this building, but that didn't mean she was any less of a threat if all hell broke loose.

Neither of us liked being in unfamiliar territory, although I could be mistaken for a human -I carefully masked my scent before we even left for Dallas – Pam had no such option available to her. The rules and regulations of vampire society were strict, similar to the structures of Underworld. Where I could be forgiven for a lapse in manners, hers would be considered an affront. I wouldn't lapse, but then I didn't think Pam made many mistakes either.

Among the vampires present I could easily spot the Sheriff. He was the one sitting at the head of the dinning table.

His sandy hair was slicked back, his physique slight and unimpressive, his black-trimmed glasses were sheer camouflage, and his pinstriped Oxford cloth shirt tucked into cotton-polyester pants. He was pale-well, duh- and freckled, with invisible eye-lashes and minimal eyebrows. If you didn't look behind the mask, he could easily pass for a geek, but I was trained to pick up small details like these.

A veneer for leashed power and unmistakable authority lay hidden behind the unimpressive clothes and bad hairstyle.

"Pamela Ravenscroft." Whatever he was trying to hide with his looks was not at all hidden in the voice, that voice held authority in every syllable.

"Stanislaus Davitowitz." Pam said and despite her tension there was a twinkle in her mischievous blue eyes. And she was the one who was reprimanding me earlier?

"Welcome to my Area."

I tried to dampen my own amusement at the stiff formality of their greetings as the pale eyes fixed on me, and scrutinised feature by feature.

"She comes in an agreeable package," he said to Pam.

I stifled a response just before feeling Pam's hand slide into mine, squeezing it, hard. A warning that this was not the place or time to show open my big mouth. A warning on in this matter from her was pure hypocrisy, but I stayed quiet, for now.

Luckily for the trained monkey –that would be me- vampires didn't waste too much time on small talk. Stan motioned to a Hispanic looking vampire who quickly left and came back dragging a young woman. When she saw me - obviously breathing and with a healthy tan - she tried to pull out of his grasp, straining towards me.

"Help me," she pleaded. "You have to help me!"

Was I supposed to just dance around and stake everyone while they patiently waited their turn? Granted, Pam and I could probably kill most of them, and Zi would finish off the ones I missed, but she didn't know that. I was just a human in her eyes. I felt a little pity for her anyway, she was obviously frightened out of the little whit she had, poor child.

I motioned with a finger to my lips for her to quieten down, but it was my calmness in a room with so many vampires that made her become silent. Well, sobbing and covered in snot, but at least she stopped begging.

I turned to Stan Davis, aware that I had to be careful not to reveal how much I knew about vampire politics. "Mr. Davies, you understand that I will need more privacy when I question the girl." I let my eyes wonder to the vampires all around the room to make my point before focusing back on him. "I will also need to know what I am looking for."

The girl began to sob louder. I was starting to reconsider being nice.

Stan's pale eyes bore onto mine. He wasn't trying to glamour me, or subdue me: he was simply examining me. "I understood your escort knew the terms of agreement with her leader," Stan finally said. I got the fucking point. I was a human, beneath his notice. I hated playing human. I held my temper in check, counting to ten, the repeated it backwards before I got myself under control.

"I understand you have met Area 5 conditions," I said. "But I need specifics so I can get relevant information from her. I don't think you want to know about her sexlife, or that she needs to do a load of laundry."

Ouch! My hand would be broken if I was human. Thanks ever so much, Pam.

"We need to know where our brother is," Stan said after a small pause.

I let the surprise show on my face; my surprise was not so much for the news but the fact that I won my bet with Eric. He thought it would take longer for Stan to fess up. From the research I did before the trip I knew that Dallas boasted an abnormally large nest. For Stan to lose one of his brothers was a blow to the vampire ego. Vampires didn't like to admit to weakness any more than daemons did. Gods forbid someone found out they liked to knit, or listened to Celine Dion in the privacy of their homes.

"Explain the circumstance to me, please." I tried to sound as neutral as possible.

He may have bought it, but his eyes made me suspect otherwise.

"My brother Godric has not returned to the nest in five nights." He said.

Pam hissed next to me, I turned in surprise. Did she know the missing vampire? The look on her face answered my unspoken question. Her eyes were wide, shock making them look abnormally round. The skin on her face whiter than snow. I stared, not sure how to react myself, or which piece of the puzzle I was missing.

"Pam?" I asked tentatively. Her grip on my fingers was becoming painful enough that I was getting worried about broken bones. They'd heal, but really, it wasn't something I enjoyed. I tugged a little to try and break free.

She didn't look my way, or acknowledge my question, but her grip loosened enough for blood to start circulating again and I felt the prickling sensation as my fingers came back to the land of the feeling.

"Why have we not been informed of this?" She hissed. I caught a glimpse of fang as her lips moved.

It was my turn to squeeze, not that it did any good. Tack, Pam. You need to learn tack. I watched Stan's eyes flare up, his temper not far behind as he stared back at my companion.

"You were informed of the facts."

"But not that it was Godric that was missing. You knew Eric is his child." Oh, fuck me to the bottom of hell. Did Eric know? I didn't think he'd be a very happy Viking when he found out that.

"Northman would over react." Stan hissed at Pam. I could see this getting uglier any second. I needed to butt in or this would escalate to something altogether less friendly.

"This girl?" I indicated with my free hand getting Stan's attention back to me. The one that wasn't in the hold of a very strong vampire.

The girl was shaking, silent tears streaming down her face. All this vampire posturing was doing nothing for her already shot nerves and the Hispanic vampire seemed the only thing holding her up.

Stan didn't even look my way as he answered my question, his eyes remained on Pam, who in turn looked pissed as a bat out of hell. Obviously the bigger threat in the room. Yeah, right.

"Works at the club where he was last seen. It is one we own. Bat's Wing."

I indicated to a chair, and the Hispanic vampire gently deposited her in it.

"Can we have a little privacy perhaps? I can take her to a free room, if that would suit you." I didn't really need to question her, I already knew where Godric was, but saying that in front of this crowd was asking for trouble. The leak may be a vampire, and I wasn't about to risk being outmanoeuvred.

Stan made a small gesture with his hand. In less than a second the room emptied leaving Stan, Pam, who was pacing like a caged animal, her normally bored and calm exterior a figment of imagination, and the Hispanic vampire still holding onto the girl.

I sat in front of Bethany. She flinched as I put my hands on hers.

"Relax Bethany. I am not going to hurt you." I said trying for a soothing voice.

"Promise?"

Boy, this was getting old. and quickly. I smiled, something I hoped could pass for reassuring. "I promise."

"Okay." She visibly relaxed under my hands.

I closed my eyes and focused on her mind. I didn't need any fancy techniques to access her memories; her whole existence was like an open book to me if I wanted to read it. I sifted through it all quickly, hours of navigating through memories of the dead souls in Underworld made the task of finding the right memory a breeze. I slid out of her mind just as easily.

"She served him the last night he was there. He went into the bathroom with a young vampire, maybe sixteen, blond, tattoo. It seemed like they knew each other." I said to Stan. From the corner of my eye I noticed that Pam became absolutely still as she listened to what I said.

"She can go. I've gotten everything from her." I added. I watched as Bethany was glamoured. She left happy, and with memories of a smashing party she attended. I hoped she would be okay. Mainstreaming was something I understood vampires were trying now that they were walking out in the open. I didn't kid myself into believing that they didn't slip up, or that they really cared what humans thought about their bloody lifestyles. Natural instinct was not a thing one could go against.

Silence reigned as the vampires processed the information I have gleamed from Bethany. I waited unperturbed by the stillness in the room. My mind assimilating the facts.

I concentrated on listening to the remaining noises in the room. With both vampires being in something close to down-time I had no trouble picking up the static of a microphone. My hearing may not be as good as a vampire's, but I guess none of them had thought that humans would dare to put a bug in their home. Besides, the extra hum could be attributed to any electrical device in the building. These days most homes had so many things wired that even humans could hear the noise of their currents if they listened hard enough.

I slid off the chair and made my way towards Stan, he was sitting at the head of the table, his eyes the only way to distinguish him from a lifeless statue. They watched me with an awareness of a killer, predatory. If only he knew that he was a very long way from the top of the list of things that made me jump.

Never the less the obvious antagonism riled up Zionos enough that I felt him slowly shimmer up my back. He stayed under the dress, but I knew that he'd be on the Sheriff before the other had a chance to get within a meter of me. Zi took the last attack as a personal failure on his part as my protector. I didn't see it that way, but there wasn't a way to convince him. I didn't bother even trying since I knew him well enough to know it was a pointless effort.

Whoever placed the bug known enough to put it close to his seat. Smart, and knowledgeable about the goings on in the nest. My mind kept spinning through the faces I've seen as we walked through trying to figure out if there was something, anything that I've missed.

"I really think that Godric is dead by now." I said breaking into the stillness with all the grace of an elephant.

"I don't believe I'm paying you to think." Stan said, his eyes made sure I was aware exactly what he thought of me. It may have been a small amount more than a normal human, but there was little doubt there that his slightly higher opinion would stop him from draining me if I 'thought' much more tonight.

I concentrated on the light hum, slipping into a chair on Stan's left as I reached under the table. Ignoring the threat in his voice and face I continued talking as my fingers started skimming over the smooth surface.

"You paid me to find out what I can about your missing brother, I have tried. Obviously he got bored of living here and moved on. It is a reasonable assumption from what I've found out tonight." My fingers slid over the smooth surface as I explored the underside of the dinning table, it didn't take me long to find the small lump. I carefully peeled it off with a nail, catching it in my other hand. I brought the harmless looking black rectangular box that fit easily onto the palm of my hand and laid it out carefully in front of him. Ours listening bugs were much smaller, barely visible really.

My eyes never left Stan's as I did this, and I prayed that he'd catch on and hopefully play along with me. When he saw what I pulled out his fangs came out with an audible pop, the eyes flared behind the fake glasses that covered half his face, and I watched him lose the geekiness as he sat up straighter, squaring his shoulders and suddenly looking more intimidating than I thought would be possible, for him.

"Yes. It would seem like your contract has been fulfilled." He grounded out. "Send me your bill. Your Sheriff was quiet adamant about that. I would have to meet him someday." His tone indicated the meeting would not be pleasant for Eric. I was amused to hear this, since I knew that they were already well acquainted and on good terms. I was sure Stan wouldn't hold his grudge against Eric forever, if he really did have a grudge and wasn't just playing it up for our audience. This was business; Eric outmanoeuvred him during the negotiations fairly.

Deciding that the easiest way to get rid of it was to break the damn thing I mentally prepared myself for a bruise. Sure, it'll heal quickly, but the pain was not something I'll enjoy.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance to you-ouch!" I'd brought my knee up to connect with the table at the same time throwing the little black thing at Pam who promptly smashed it on the ground.

"How did you know it was there?" Pam said after my display and there was a smile lurking on her stoic features. Her eyebrow was raised over her cold blue eyes, a look that reminded me of her maker. Did Eric know that it was his maker in trouble? Was Godric in actual trouble, or did he go willingly?

"I saw something in Bethany's thoughts that helped me connect the dots," I said. She gave me the opening and I went with it. "The clergyman at the airport was there that night. I didn't get a good look into his head but I did managed to see he was from the Fellowship. It's too much of a coincidence for him to be present both times."

There was a pregnant pause. A lie based on the truth was always more convincing. I learnt from the best in the business; fae can't lie. Their version of the truth though would leave you so confused you'll believe that the sky is polka dotted green and the earth is swirling purples.

"But this priest, even with two other humans to help him, he could not have taken Godric, if Godric didn't want to go." Stan said.

I looked down thinking that it was not my place to connect the dots on this one. I knew all about betrayal. It left an unpleasant after-taste in ones mouth and a shadow over the heart. Pam for once was subdued. At last, Stan Davies, Sheriff of the Dallas Area, said quietly. "If he was kidnapped it is a real possibility that this unknown vampire is an accomplice."I nodded not meeting his eyes. "Then this vampire must have helped abduct Godric, or Godric actually went willingly with him."

In the next instance a few vampires filtered into the room. It made me wonder how Stan was getting them to come here, I didn't see him using a phone. They started to talk and a more than one pair of fangs was flashed as Stan relaid the information to them. Apparently Godric had been a much loved member of their nest, as well as the eldest vampire in this neck of the woods.

Pam and I stayed quiet, me because at this point I had nothing else do add, and Pam probably because she was too busy working through the implications of her grand-sire being in the hands of FotS. I wasn't sure why we were still there, but we stayed, both too fascinated by the turn of events. I was thinking of a way to solve this mess without bloodshed. The only way I could see that happening was if I went to the FotS myself.

_Do you not have enough to deal with? _Zionos spoke up. I started, he's been so quiet all evening I thought he's been sleeping.

_It's Eric's maker. There isn't a chance in hell I'm going to leave this, you know that. _

He shifted, probably stretching, I felt his tail swish on the left side of my abdomen, it tickled. _You are asking for more trouble. _It wasn't a question, so I didn't bother replying. My hand scratched at the tickled spot, he loved to make me uncomfortable when he could. He was also the best back scratcher ever created.

"You need to screen the humans." Pam voice broke into their talk. "Someone put that bug here. The natural place to look for a traitor would be among the human companions, or a visiting vampire." All eyes focused on us. None looked friendly.

I think she was just getting bored with the circular arguments and irritatingly stupid plans, I know I was. So far their plans consisted of storming and slaughtering the church congregation, which would seem like good revenge to someone who was over a few centuries old, but it sure wasn't practical in this day and age. Not with all the mainstreaming bullshit they've been shuffling around.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for vampires and humans trying to get along and create a peaceful society. I'm also a realist. Have you ever heard the story about the scorpion and the frog? Or was it a fish? Well never mind, the point is that the scorpion can't help what he is: a predator, a killer.

One of the male vampires took a few angry steps our way, fangs on full display. He was wearing what I could only describe as a cowboy outfit, it made me wonder if he was trying to overcompensate for a lack of something by hiding behind the machoness. Case and point right there, although it may be a case of a fanatic, but relevant.

Neither one of us reacted. Even with our odds, we would still win; Pam knew I had a few tricks up my sleeves, like a rather large pussycat and four very powerful daemons.

Instead she carried on in perfectly bored American that was sprinkled with a hint of an English accent, a sign that she wasn't as relaxed as she was trying to appear.

"Stan, you must see that as the logical conclusion. Unless you think one of your nest mates betrayed you." Pam, rubbing things in will not endear us to them.

"I may not be able to help you with the vampires in your nest, but I can at least clear the humans of suspicion." I pointed out, trying to diffuse the tension in the air. " And with suitable back-up I can rescue Godric tomorrow during the day. It would look less suspicious if I went in as part of couple rather than a lone woman." The vampire's were backing down, so I kept on talking. "You need to handle this with care. Any violent act against the church now could be misrepresented in a bad light by the human press. I'll be able to retrieve him for you with the least amount of fuss."

The cowboy sneered at me, clearly unimpressed with my more peaceful option.

"How do you plan to do that, Miss Hellion? You are but one human." Stan said. He was looking at me closely, reassessing. He was good with disguises, it didn't take a mind reader to figure out what he was thinking. I was a human in a room full of vampires, during a hostile situation and I was not showing any signs of fear. My heartbeat was still normal. Even if I could outwardly portray calm, there is no way I could control my reaction to a threat to this extent. He knew I was still confident, he couldn't understand why.

I didn't let give him a hint. After what seemed like eternity, in fact it was probably half a minute at the most his eyes moved away. He did know one thing though; a human would have been sweating by now.

"Bring in the humans." Stan said to Isabel with a note of impatience. "Wait, are there visitors in the house?"

"Yes. One, from California."

"Bring him too." He added before montioning with his hand to the rest of the vampires. Cowboy glared at me as he walked past. Maybe he was imagining ripping my head off, or possibly having me for dinner? I really couldn't bring myself to care.

Yet again we were left alone with Stan Davies, who's attention was back on studying me. "You did not answer my question."

A bug under a microscope, that was the feeling I had right now. Pam cast me a side-long glance, one that said how much trouble I've gotten myself into and she wasn't about to bail me out either. Bitchy, and yet, I did dig my own grave on this one.

"I have some tricks up my sleeves. I can assure you that I will act in your best interests and with minimal damage to either vampires or humans." I said neutrally.

"You are not quiet human." It was a statement not a question.

My smile turned catlike. "I am as human as you are."

Stan's eyes flared, but his next question was interrupted by the arrival of a bunch of pets. Humans attached to the vampires living here. There were seven in total. The dishwasher guy I'd seen as we came in among them.

I went around one by one, not bothering to argue about the audience that gathered. I knew a lost cause when I saw one.

I read Isabel's human, Hugo Ayers, divorce layer, who happened to be my dishwasher guy. He was recently divorced himself, and had a little girl. Other completely uninteresting fact about his life were irrelevant apart from his recent association with a certain Daniella, a blond secretary from the seventeenth floor in his office building. It started rather recently. And it wasn't anything romantic, but she did happen to be part of a particular church congregation. He thought himself smart, doing the right thing, fighting back because he was treated so poorly by his vampire girlfriend. I thought him delusional, those idiots wanted nothing from him except information. Now he would most likely end up dead, jury was still out if hell would be his new residency, but I wasn't betting any money against it. There was just too much hatred in him.

I moved on. I still had two more humans to read. Hugo wasn't about to make any phone calls and I didn't want every vampire in the room on him the second I pointed my finger.

"Could you take them to another part of the house, please?" I asked as I finished reading the last two; they were happy, glamoured and pampered. Urgh.

I was about to relay what I've found out to Stan, now that the responsible human was out of immediate line of fire, when my bond with Eric sprang to life spreading warmth through me like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. I didn't need to look at the vampire that just entered to know he was most definitely not from California. I knew without a speck of doubt that the vampire would be blond, blue-eyed, tall, and drop-dead gorgeous. My eyes shifted to him involuntarily taking in every detail of my Viking. He was wearing light blue linen shirt, khaki's and sandals. He even shaved for the occasion. I didn't miss the lust flicker in his eyes as he saw my dress, and the way it clung to my every curve.

Isabel, who'd been escorting him, said, "this is Leif."

I felt Pam stiffen slightly behind me. Clearly, her master forgot to mention this little trip to his second. I had doubts she was feeling the loving child right now, different nefarious scenarios ran through my mind as I tried to picture what she would come up with as revenge. Eric had better find a way to make this up to her, or she will make him pay. Then again, she might make him pay anyway.

I wasn't too happy with his lack of trust myself. Then I remembered who I was going to be rescuing tomorrow and began to worry about other things than Pam's hypothetical revenge.

I saw Stan's pupils dilate in recognition, remembering his earlier comments about negotiating my contract I knew Eric wasn't going to have a pleasant greeting tonight.

"Leif" Stan said smoothly, with a hint of sarcasm, "welcome to my nest. It would seem we have a problem here this evening."

Eric was all charm and laid back confidence.

"How may I help you?

"It would seem someone has entered this room and performed an act of spying. May I ask what is the purpose of your visit?" said Stan, getting right to the point.

Pam was still as a statue behind me, I was she was aware how precarious Eric's position was right now. This was a matter between the boys, neither one of us wanted to butt in too much. Milking it for all it was worth I stayed quiet, fully aware that I could extricate Eric from the hot seat at any moment but enjoying the show too much.

"I am a visitor to your nest, and I have no problem with you or any of yours."

Leif's whole denial was impressive, given that Stan, Pam or I believed none of it. Then again, he was probably telling the truth, I had a feeling he was here to keep an eye on me, therefore not a direct threat. Did he already know who was missing, or had the other kept it quiet?

By this time the humans filed out of the room, the vampires stayed to hear what I had to say, and I felt it was high time to get Eric out of trouble and informed if he wasn't already.

"He is not responsible for this particular act of spying. I believe the information regarding my arrival was collected at least one night ago, besides your mole is human. To be specific male, in his forties and dissatisfied. Isabel's pet, Hugo Ayers, the layer has been feeling used, and after a particular heated argument with Isabel contacted the FotS through someone working in his building." I said.

If I didn't feel like a circus freak before, I sure felt freakish enough now with all eyes trained on me again. The amount of hostility floating around made me grateful that it wasn't directed at me, and that I sent the target away from the 'nice' vampires.

_You always did enjoy being the star of the show. This particular one, you're the meat…bait? Hmm…entrée?_ Zionos helpful comments broke up my inner tension and I shifted my weight around trying to keep myself relaxed. This much hostility, and vampires usually didn't bode well for peaceful conversation.

"Are you sure?" Stan finally asked me.

"Yes, I'm sure. I understand that in view of changed circumstances you would question my integrity. I can assure you that not only can you find proof on Hugo's mobile, but at his house too." From the look on their faces I could tell that my words were coming out sharper, with more authority than a human normally displays in front of them. I was starting to get impatient.

Stan turned to his people, he didn't need to speak, they moved simultaneously. Several vampires grabbed Isabel, she didn't even protest, knowing the blame was hers, since the human was considered her property, hence her responsibility. The others filed out, I assumed yet another silent directive from Stan. Whether they were going to confirm my story or simply go about their nightly business, I didn't really care. I at Stan's watch, an expensive piece a little at odds with the rest of his costume. Well, we all have a weakness. It was getting past eleven. While I knew that our original plans to party were probably blown to smithereens seeing as both Pam and now Eric will be concerned about Godric, I still wanted to get the hell out of here.

"Mr Davies, I believe I have accomplished all I can tonight. I need to get some rest before I storm the gates of FotS castle." I tried to make myself as polite as possible.

Stan gave me a meaningful look before exchanged glances with Pam. I just knew I'll be having a visit from a rare breed of pissed of Viking in a very short amount of time, but I was glad when he let me off the hook for now, since this bomb was something I didn't want to be here for. Eric would not want that, something I just knew instinctively.

"Yes, I believe I have some business to discuss with my visitor. You may go, someone will come tomorrow afternoon as your escort. I look forward to tomorrow night and your account of the rescue mission." Stan said, I don't think he was feeling particularly kind towards any of us at the moment.

I started walking towards the door, but caught myself as I noticed Pam looked indecisive. An odd expression on her face I hoped not to see too often.

"I'll make my own way there if you prefer to stay and socialise." I told her gently.

She gave me a grateful look. "Yes. I think I'd like to catch up on gossip. Don't wait up for me dearest." She winked, before addressing Stan. "Could you please provide transportation for my friend?"

I caught the laugh just before it burst out of me. Pam being polite was a thing to remember. Maybe even immortalise.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey all! **

**Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about that. Life has been busy. I've changed countries twice in about a month, but I won't bore you guys with the details…I've bored people enough with them on my wordpress blog, so if you wanna know what I've been up to go check out my recent post. **

**I'm also on twitter, which I do use, daily. **

**For the fans of Dying Love, if you're reading this in the hopes that the sequel is coming soon, it is, sort of. I've decided to re-vamp DL, as in send it to a proper beta and all that, she's awesome for doing it. Now, having said that, she's also VERY thorough, so it's gonna take us a while to pound out each chapter, and I lot of my time. I'm sorry about that. The good news is that when I'm posting, and I will be posting a sequel, it'll be grammatically correct, I hope.**

**This chapter has not been pre-read by anyone other than myself, or beta'ed, so please forgive the mistakes, there are probably many of them. I've discovered the unhappy truth; my grammar sucks harder than a vampire. (insert laugh here)**

**Disclaimer: SVM and TB isn't mine, but I love playing with the characters.**

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My driver on the way back to the hotel was a lovely young vampire named Melissa, a petite brunette who must have been turned in her early twenties. She was also turned recently, and she liked to talk. A lot.

Melissa I discovered had an obsession with a certain Viking. She wanted to know all about Eric Northman, since she heard about him from the local vampires when Stan contracted us. I tried to hide my amusement as I described the sexy blond undead hunk to her, with a few embellishments just for kicks, amused since she had been standing in the same room with her obsession just moments before. Of course my acting skills were tested further by the internal commentary a la Zi, it was a great testament to my will that my exit from the car was unhurried and even friendly enough to drip honey, without a hint of anything else sprinkled on it I might add.

_Oh. I haven't had this much fun in a while._ Zi said after I was safely away from the car and inside the hotel.

_Glad I was entertaining enough for you._ Even my mental voice sounded sarcastic.

His chuckle floated up near my left ear leaving me wondering where exactly he was currently sitting. Some days I knew, but if he moved around lightly enough, I had no idea.

Barry the bellboy hurried toward me as I made my way through the slick interior of the reception area of Silent Shores Hotel towards the lifts. "Excuse me miss, but this came for you while you were out." He said in a shaky voice that made me wonder if he was this uneasy around the undead clientele that made up the majority of the hotel's patrons; they could probably smell his fear much better than I could. Fear meant dinner, or at least a game for a predator…something that maybe whomever had been training the poor boy didn't mention, or maybe Barry just couldn't help himself.

I took the package from his shaky fingers and thanked him with a small smile. He was turning to go back to his post when I said, "your name is Barry isn't it?"

_Ten point for stating the obvious._ Zi said.

_Shut up. I needed an opening._ He grunted something in answer, but my focus had shifted to the startled boy in front of me. No doubt, he was wondering why I decided to pay attention to him.

The young man looked at me with that almost blank smile of a good hotel employee who doesn't question the guests. "Yes. It is."

I smiled back at him. "Wonderful. My name is Lexie. Come and sit down with me."

Barry looked floored. "I can't. I'm working."

"You sure are, and you are indulging a hotel guests in a more eccentric request than fetching something for them. Now, come." I said, and turned towards the lobby couches without waiting for an answer. I knew he'd follow just to be polite, or so I didn't complain to his supervisor. Either option worked for me.

I took a seat on one of the couches, putting the package next to me and waited for Barry to get comfortable. He sat opposite me, on the edge of the leather lounge, and looked distinctly uncomfortable. His eyes kept shifting from my face to scan the rest of the lobby, probably in fear that someone would bust him sitting down on the job. I almost felt sorry for him as he fidgeted under my silent scrutiny.

"I have something that I need to talk to you about, but you aren't allowed to freak out. Okay?" I started saying and waited for him to nod before continuing. He didn't look like he wasn't freaking out, but tact had never been a forte of mine when it came to this sort of thing so I barrelled on anyway. "You are a telepath." His face turned white giving me a good impression of what he'd look like if he were undead…or just dead, period. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you, or anything of the like. I'm making sure you are aware that I know. I am telepathic too by the way."

I waited while the information sank in through the panic. It didn't take too long before his eyes widened and his face changed from wariness to something else…excitement, perhaps.

"You are? I mean you're not going to tell anyone, are you? I've never met anyone else like me, but I've had some bad experiences in the past." He said rushing out every word.

I shook my head. "No. Not unless you'd like me to. You are aware that you could use your talent to make money?"

His eyes got even wider making him look very young, and I stifled a sigh at seeing such a naïve expression while feeling every single one of my own years.

"I see you did not. Of course you'll need some more training, your shielding is non-existent, and your focusing is sloppy, but that will come with practise. I can help you find a good teacher if you'd like to stop listening in on the constant chatter-"

"You can? Man that would be fantastic. It drives me insane! I didn't know there are others like me. Are there lots? How did you find them?" He asked leaning forward. A chuckle escaped me, his good mood saturating me with a little bit of happiness as well.

"There are lots of others if you know where to look, but I can help you get in contact with them. Now how about a lesson in shields to make things easier for you now, then after you can give me your details, and I'll have someone contact you for something more regular. With a bit of practise you could make a very nice living working for vampires as a telepath; a better living than working as a bellboy in a vampire hotel." I left out all the other races that would be interested in his services, he'll find out soon enough.

He agreed and I showed him a few practise exercises. I taught him the rudiments I learnt when I was very young, he struggled with more of it than I would have liked to see since his talent wasn't nearly as strong as mine. Whichever one of his ancestors had a brief, intimate encounter with a god must have been long, long gone by now; while divine blood stayed in the family forever, it didn't mean that the effects weren't weakened with each generation.

In the end we exchanged numbers, and I walked away from a much happier and more confident young man. At least something I've done lately turned out well, there was bound to be a telepathic daemon, or two, in the area I could get for him as an instructor, someone who could help him to really hone his gift, and look out for him while he learnt the realities of the supernatural world.

I was going to tell Stan about him, there was not doubt about it; the relationship would benefit both of them. If Barry was smart enough to get over his fear - I hoped for his sake he would -there was no way Stan wouldn't utilise the talent, especially since he would be a much cheaper, and convenient, alternative to me.

Pam came upstairs just as I got comfortable on the couch with a cool glass of ice tea. It was the one from a can, but I didn't have much choice in that department, seeing as the hotel catered more to the undead guests, rather than their living companions.

"Stan will send your back up tomorrow afternoon." She said as she gracefully sat down opposite me.

I nodded. "Did he recognise Eric?"

She rolled her eyes in a great show of exasperation. "Of course he did. It would have been amusing if it wasn't for the fact that Eric found out about Godric." She didn't look amused one bit, and I wondered just how badly Eric had reacted to the news that his maker was missing.

"How did he take it?" I couldn't pretend I wasn't worried about him, after all, I've seen the closeness between Pam and him, I could only imagine how close he was to his maker, or not.

She gave me a searching look before replying. "He is not himself." Which wasn't much of an answer, but, then again, it was enough.

I nodded, thinking if I should go and find him. The bond between us told me here was in the hotel, but it wasn't strong enough right now for me to determine what he was feeling.

"I can't protect you tomorrow." Pam's voice startled me, and I realised I've forgotten she was in the room. Sneaky, quiet vampire.

"I know," I told her, but she didn't look pleased with my answer. "I'm not asking you to do that."

Both of us knew I was more than able to hold my own against an army of humans, let alone some small church gathering.

"If anything happens to you, I will be held responsible," she said with a frown.

"Why the heck are you responsible for me in the first place? The only reason I agreed to a vampire escort was so Stan didn't get any ideas, after tonight I'm expecting an interrogation from him as soon as he gets me back in his nest, probably tomorrow night," I said sourly.

Pam looked me over with a touch of exasperation and something else, something that resembled warmth, or maybe even affection, but I tried not to read into it too much.

"You have become…important to Eric. As his second, I am not sure I approve of his strong attachment to you," she said, "I can't fault him for it, but I worry that he will be too distracted and make a mistake. That isn't something he can afford now, or ever."

That was Pam's way of saying she was my friend. It didn't quiet give me the warm fuzzies, but it was as far as she would let herself acknowledge our friendship. It was good enough.

I got up off the couch and went to get another drink for myself and summoned a bottle of blood for Pam who was on the phone ordering dinner. A busty blond with a blood type of AB something; I wasn't interested enough in Pam's preferences to pay too much attention.

We settled down to wait, Pam waiting for her dinner and I was waiting for Eric. I wasn't sure how long he would be, but the feeling I had told me it won't be long. My Viking will want to take this dress off me and forget about everything for a few precious moments. I caught myself on the thought of how possessive I was being, not sure if I was happy with wanting him to be mine, and not willing to entertain the idea of letting him go.

Not even a minute later there was a knock on the door, Pam and I stood up and looked at each other.

"Unzip my back." I mouthed. I knew it was Eric.

Pam smiled following my instructions as she quickly opened up the back of my dress. She didn't miss the opportunity to run her fingers down my back, either. They tickled and I wiggled my bottom a bit as she laughed softly. Taking the pins out of my hair before messing it up a little to make it looked, well, more ravished, I turned around to her. Pam's fangs were out and she looked, hungry. Mission accomplished.

"Who is it?" I called out, striving for breathless and aroused.

I felt irritation, amusement… and…jealousy.

"It's me." Pam rolled her eyes, I sniggered.

"Hang on," I said, and walked to the door, making sure to take as much time as I could.

When the door opened I found myself staring at broad white chest. Eric's shirt was unbuttoned. His blond hair framed his face as he stared down at me, and the lust in his eyes threatened to burn the fabric right off me as he took in my appearance. His fangs ran down when I wiggled making the dress slip lower, giving him the prefect view of the top of my breasts. I heard Pam laugh, again, and he glared at Pam over my head, no doubt wishing she was anywhere else on this planet right now.

"Did you want something master? Lexie and I were just about to retire." She said the picture of perfect innocence. I had to bite my check to keep myself from laughing.

"Yes." He said before picking me up and kissing me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his arousal through the thin fabric of my dress. My fingers were in his hair before I knew it and Pam's voyeurism was all forgotten as I let his feelings wash over me. The storm behind inside him found a focus; me. He walked strait to my bedroom door without once breaking the kiss.

"Night Pam." I managed to get out before the door slammed shut on her grinning face.

Eric kissed me for a long time. After everything that has happened in the last twenty four hours, I was a little unprepared for this much enthusiasm from him, but his kisses derailed my worries for now and I let myself enjoy just being with Eric. I was feeling all flushed his soft cool skin perfect against my own burning one. When we came up for much needed air, on my part (I may be immortal but I still enjoyed breathing), I realised we have not moved any further into the room than what it took to shut the door. The feeling of being surrounded completely by Eric's scent, musky with a hint of cologne, was wonderful, a homecoming, and I wanted to purr. Our bond was fully open between us and the feelings of lust, hunger and our mutual attraction were only making me more aware of how much I came to like this vampire in the short time I have known him. Something thawed inside me making me realise that I kept myself frozen, like the last patch of snow that stubbornly refused to give way to spring thaw.

"We do not have enough time to enjoy each other before the sun will rise." He said, as he lowered me onto the bed and stood back to admire me. I wondered briefly what I must look lie; flushed all over from his attention, my hair a mess and my dress well…let's just say it didn't leave much to the imagination having been moved beyond anything that could be considered adequate coverage. "But I want the taste of you to be my last memory of tonight."

Eric stood over me taking me in, his fangs fully extended. He looked magnificent, fluid and very determined. How could a girl say no to that?

"Let's not waist any time then." I said and my voice was husky with the need for him to fulfil every promise.

I lost my panties first, then he was tasting me...licking…biting and sucking.

I let my hands tug at his hair, he didn't mind. His arms wrapped around my thighs as he pushed them further open, and I gave into him, offering him all I could. My feelings an open book as he tried to draw out each of my screams… prolong the tidal highs… and make sure that they heard me in the lobby.

I fell asleep blissfully sated, after the Viking had his fill of me.

V v V v V v V v V v V

Waking up was slow business. First, I realised that this was not my bed. I have several beds to call my own; none of them have cotton sheets.

_You're in Dallas, darling. Now get up, or you'll be late._ Zi said.

I grunted, still too sleepy to come up with anything more insightful, snarky, or even bitchy.

Zi's helpfulness would explain the unfamiliar bed, but I also felt a cool body wrapped around me, interesting. I was naked, not a stitch of clothing between me and the cool body, which was also nude, that seemed to be wrapped around me, I savoured the sensation. Slowly, as my mind became more awake, I remembered the many pleasant things that occurred last night. Eric's fascination with my body, his thorough explorations, with hands, tongue, and later on fangs; I was a pleasant hum of satisfaction this morning, which explained my current mellow state. Snuggling back into my cool blanket, I dozed for a while longer, relishing the pleasant soreness of my body, happy that I could still feel it.

It took me another half hour to come fully awake. I lay there daydreaming about all the pleasant things I will be able to do to Eric, when we had a chance. Reality did come crashing down soon enough. My phone started buzzing and grumbling to myself –and Zi, who didn't bother rubbing it in, much- about the poor timing, and lack of caffeine, I answered.

"Is this Alessandra?" Male voice asked through the phone. I bit back a snarky reply, not their fault I wasn't yet awake, after most would be at this time.

_Never stoped you before, Lex. You must be getting soft. _Zionos quipped and I pinched my lower back in answer. The hurt was completely worth the surprised yelp as he scrambled away from my hand.

"It would seem so, and who do I have the pleasure of talking to?" I hoped that I sounded polite enough. From the longer than normal pause, and Zi's chuckles, I gathered not. Oh, well.

I heard a shaky breath before the male voice answered. "This is Hugo, we met briefly last night. Stan sent me to accompany you for your trip today." Well, for all that is unholy! What the hell was Stan thinking? I did not want a big target sign on my forehead while I rescued two vampires from the clutches of self-righteous cretins. My genial mood evaporated completely. The pleasantness of lying in bed next to Eric gone, I extracted myself from his arms with a sigh. There was a rescue to accomplish today and, apparently, an idiot lamb to shepherd. Gods help me stay reasonable through this stupidity.

"Where are you?" I said once I was on my feet. The clock on the beside table told me I've slept longer than I though, it was two in the afternoon and that left me with little, if any, time for preparation.

"I was instructed to meet you at the Silent Shore Hotel at three and to call this number in advance to let you know of my arrival. Stan indicated you would be in charge of whatever we are doing today." His sounded almost uncertain. I needed to find out more, but couldn't read his mind over the phone.

"Ok, I need to get changed and ready, how about we meet in the lobby in about an hour?" I asked. Thankfully Hugo seemed to be in a very agreeable mood.

_He could be brainwashed._ Zionos opened up the topic my brain was brewing on while I was in the shower.

_He better be, otherwise we will be walking into a trap. _I headed into the bathroom.

_I doubt Stan would do something that devious. _Zi said, then after a pause continued._ Then again, he doesn't really know who you are; it could be a way to flush you out as well. If it is, it's very cunning….I think I like him. _The highest compliment that cat could pay a vampire.

It was hard not to appreciate Stan's brilliance. The best opponents are the ones you respect. I didn't think Stan had it in for me, but he wasn't exactly my fan either. He didn't know what I was, that made any supernatural being with a few centuries under their belt nervous. Longevity depended on your ability to size up whomever you are dealing with, my lack of forthcoming information last night made Stan curious. Curious enough to make sure I had extra hurdles to jump while rescuing one of his 'brothers'. Maybe he asked Eric, but then again why would Eric try and jeopardise my rescue of his maker? So many interesting questions, I was intrigued and not a little bit excited about it all. Damn fairy blood, always led me into more mischief than I really needed.

By the time I dried my hair, which I had to do in a hurry, no easy task when you have curls. I was embracing my temper like a petulant teenager. Sure I was way past the hormonal irrational behaviour of a typical teenage human, but lack of a solid target made me embrace my bad temper with a relish. Zionos was all for abandoning the whole thing, but I knew it was an impossible. Vampires would just make sure it was genocide and I as much as I was pissed off with Stan, I didn't want some innocent - albeit misguided - idiots die because I had a temper tantrum and refused to do what was right.

Exactly one hour later the elevator doors opened on the lobby of Silent Shore Hotel, Sandy Shore stepped out into the reception area. She had lovely blond hair, soulful blue eyes and generally looked like a Stepford wife. I was especially proud of her clothes; I had no idea that I even owned anything this proper. Killira must have bought this for me in the hopes that I would become the perfect princess, of course when I told her this was part of a costume her mood definitely hit a sour note.

I looked nothing like Alessandra Hellion, nothing at all resembling the Princess of Underworld, or the human part-time waitress from Louisiana.

Sandy's outfit- I flat out refused to consider these as clothes I owned- consisted of a flowing white skirt that ended mid calf and a pretty yellow top with puffy sleeves and round collar. I wore wedges on my feet and a gold cross on a delicate chain around my neck. Sandy always had a sunny smile on her face, and if I didn't know how virtuous I looked Zionos' running mental commentary made it perfectly clear. Sandy Shore smiled as she walked down to the lounge area of reception, where she spotted her college friend Hugo.

I seethed inside, my overactive imagination thinking up all sorts of creative ways to make Zi's life a misery. He was having too much fun with this.

"Hello Hugo. It is so good to see you!" I said in Sandy's charming voice, which grated on my eardrums like scratchy nails on a blackboard.

Hugo looked at me with confusion. From what I glimpsed I his head, last nights episode was highly edited, and Stan put in some suggestions in there as well, like take the human from the hotel to FotS, do what she says.

"Do I know you?" He said.

"Don't you remember me from college?" I asked, mustering up the right amount of surprise and indignation in my tone. "We went out for like, six months, and you even said you loved me."

He looked confused. Then like the sun coming out behind the clouds his expression cleared. Stan was very, very good with suggestive glamouring. I was impressed, and maybe a little less annoyed with Stan.

"Yes, of course... How could I forget." He sounded certain; I knew for a fact that he came up with zilch. His mind was furiously trying to work out how he could have forgotten the hot blond in front of him.

"Sandy Shore," I said, I needed to fill in the picture while he was still freshly wiped. "We met again a month ago, and hit it off, since we both wanted to stop working for vampires. We agreed to meet here today so you can take me to see the new church you were attending."

Hugo was nodding happily along to my explanation. The process of my words assimilating into his memory was a little disconcerting to witness, but it was better than the alternative.

I've never been an advocate of blind obedience, but I wasn't about to fuck up my chances at the fellowship. The vindictive bitch in me really hated betrayers and so a part of me relished it. I wasn't sure if I liked parts of me at all.

Hugo drove through the heave traffic navigating his way through the city with ease, if not comfort. I've travelled enough around the world to know that the traffic in Dallas wasn't really all that bad, it was more congested that Bon Temps, sure, then again it wasn't exactly hard to beat that.

I hated traffic, which was why I decided to live in my out of the way corner of Louisiana.

_It may be out of the way for most, but somehow you found trouble anyway. _Zi said and I glared at the car passing by as retaliation. The scared look I got from the poor woman behind the wheel didn't really satisfy my inner bitch; after all the frustration wasn't really directed her way.

_That's not my fault, and you know it._ I told him. His annoying me didn't help my mood one little bit, and I glared out the window. This charade, although fun, was starting to really grate on my nerves, and that was without having to wear all the ridiculous gear I would have had I been human. Imagine a wig, in this heat, I'd melt.

Hugo and I didn't talk all that much, we didn't need to. I wasn't interested in small talk and lucky for me he was too far gone in whatever world Stan put him into to register my lack of social skills. Soon enough we pulled into a massive parking lot, the lawns of the property were that disgusting bright green colour that screamed artificial and I wondered if they had some supernatural help from a gnome, or two. How the hell do you keep your lawns that green in this blistering heat? I didn't have a ready answer, and the question seemed really unimportant, so my attention wondered again.

The building itself must have been a church before the Fellowship occupation. It was a large, rather imposing white-painted brick building with tinted windows. There was a sign in the middle of the green pasture, it read THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SUN CENTER- Only Jesus Rose from the Dead.

I snorted at the misconception imagining their reaction if I told them the truth. People get resurrected on regular basis; we just tend to cover it up conspiracy style. Look what happened last time a newbie left a few memories unaltered. We got Jesus the Saviour, that's what! The poor guy has been hiding out in Underworld ever since, and not just anywhere, but in the secluded rehabilitation centre.

I took in my surrounding like a good little soldier calculating escape routes and counting off cameras. Their security was laughable in my opinion, but it wasn't as though the place was a prison. Yeah, that's right; it was a nice church with happy people.

There was a family getting into a large people mover a few cars down from where we parked. The little girl, probably around seven, or so, was whining about having to come back tonight, and how everyone at school would be at the sleepover his friend Jason was having.

The teenager son stood next to the flustered mother and looked like he hated the world, his sibling, and probably himself. God, haven't we all been there at least once in our lives?

After a quick scan of the adult's brains let me know they knew nothing at all I stopped paying attention to them, they weren't high up enough to know anything, but the basic propaganda being preached to the masses.

Most of the congregation would probably be at work making money which they can give to these idiots later.

I counted ten cars in all. I did notice the nice white convertible Lexus, that is, I thought it was nice until I spied the sticker on it's bumper.

TAKE THE UN OUT OF THE UNDEAD.

_That's just charming. I will never see a Lexus in the same light ever again_. I said to Zi.

_Until they release a new toy for you to destroy._ He replied in good humour and I had to agree. What could I say? Zi knew my addiction to fast things. I vaguely remembered reading about a new little coupe they were putting out sometime next year.

That's when I almost jumped as Hugo grabbed my hand. My mind had wondered into my obsession so much that reality around me had receded, not the brightest thing I've done in hostile territory, no matter how benign it seemed. He wanted to make us look more like a couple. I had instructed him that we went out on a few dates before, and even gave him a whole history for backup and all, including some nauseating details that I'd made up. We had kissed, the thought alone almost made me vomit. That had to be done though, since I'd be too busy reading minds to pay attention to details later, and he needed to play his part flawlessly to make up for my absent mindedness as I read looked for the whereabouts of the vampires.

When we entered the building, taking a moment to adjust to the relative dimness inside, I saw a woman approaching us. She looked like the perfect poster wife of a regular churchgoer; perfect hair, well manicured nails, in pink, and matching pink lipstick. She was wearing what I believe could be described as a virginal outfit. Something I wouldn't be caught dead in, it screamed purity and all the other saintly crap. It made my own clothes, which I considered rather prim, look terribly daring. Oh God, this thing couldn't finish fast enough.

_Lucky you didn't wear any of your own clothes_, Zionos voiced his unlooked for opinion, and in this case I had to reluctantly agree. I didn't think I owned anything that didn't reveal either most of my legs, or a good portion of my breasts, and in most cases both. I didn't dress like a slut. Much. But I was a strong believer in appreciating your own assets. It just so happens that helping others appreciate them was the best way to appreciate them yourself.

"Can I help you?" She asked looking all perky.

_Sure, can you tell me where the vampire prison is?_ I didn't think she'd answer. I pasted what I hoped could pass of as a pleasant and innocent smile on my face.

"We wanted to find out more about your church." Hugo said confidently, and every bit as sincere as our new friend. Layers; this is why it's so hard to trust them, they could be thinking about ripping you to shreds, but they will do it while wishing you the best of health, and shaking your hand like you had been the best buddies since forever.

I noticed our new friends tag signified that her name was S. Newland.

_Isn't she the wife of the guy who runs this place?_ Zi asked. He could see all that I could, if he wanted to.

_The bitch with the pretty car._ I told him.

Mrs Sarah Newland, the owner of the lovely car, was all pretty smiles, and after warm pleased-to-meet-you's led us through a hallway to the offices. The doors were mostly open and I tried to sneak a peek into as many as I could while keeping up with our darling hostess, Sarah Newland was walking in front of us. She was chatting over her shoulder in that pleasant southern twang all too familiar to me, but the pace she set was far from relaxed. We made our way through the deceptively large building; surely it wasn't this big from the outside? After what seemed like a never ending hallway of offices, in reality it was close to twenty or so, we stopped in front of a door that had a sign on it G. STEVEN NEWLAND, DIRECTOR.

It was the only closed door I have seen so far. Interesting.

Hugo's palm was damp from the sweat, clearly he was nervous. I probed his mind to check on him, and Stan's little meddling just in case. Hugo wasn't even sure why he was nervous, maybe the suppressed memories were affecting him subconsciously. That was something I'd have to discuss with Eric later. I was pretty after our weapon practises.

Thinking of Eric made lust spiral inside me, a slow burning sensation as my thoughts drifted back to last night. Clearly my mind was not on the mission at hand today, something completely and utterly uncharacteristic of me. Damn Viking and his clever tongue! Damn.

Our lovely hostess knocked on the door, and after waiting a moment entered. The tall, lanky man behind the desk stood to beam at us with an air of pleased expectancy. He was certainly nothing like a fanatic you would picture. He looked pleasant enough, but then again most truly hideous people are. I have seen serial killers who looked like friendly neighbours, perfect looking wives who have murdered their husband and children in cold blood, and daemons who were so stunningly beautiful it would hurt a mortal to look at them doing unthinkable evil, and savouring every scream. I learned not to judge a book by its cover, evil usually wore the prettiest face in the room. After all, it was the Little Red Riding Hood who ate the poor wolf, and not the other way around.

The smile on my face was almost sincere when I was introduced to Steve Newland and Polly Blythe, the events coordinator, finally I was getting somewhere.

"I am sorry, what are you names? Silly of me to forget to ask." Sarah was all agreeable smiles, and charming ruefulness.

_I need to gag, now. _Zi said to me in a flat tone that almost made me falter. Almost.

I didn't buy her act for a second. I had read her mind while we walked. She knew exactly who Hugo was, me she couldn't figure out since I looked nothing like the woman who was supposedly telepathic. They didn't really believe in that until last night, and poor little Sarah Newland still had trouble comprehending that such evil creatures walked among us. She just pegged me for a fang follower anyway. Geez, what happened to innocent until proven guilty? I guess this was more a case of guilty by association; Hugo was a know vampire associate, I was with Hugo.

I didn't mind, if it got them thinking about what I needed, all the better.

"I'm Hugo Ayers, and this is my girlfriend, Sandy." Hugo said while I smiled in a stupid blond way to make sure they paid as little attention to the poor dumb thing as possible. It worked.

The conversation flowed around me, and I paid less than half a mind to what was being said, since the trophy girlfriend was not as interesting as the layer who defended vampires in court. It would have hurt my ego, but I had other things to think about. It seemed our new friends already knew who we were, at least who Hugo was, obviously, since he was their little rat. They were extremely excited about having me there as well, although they weren't sure who I was, but it didn't matter since their fanatical minds already making assumptions on my character. Which was flawed; on my associations with vampires, which were unholy; passing judgment on me, and which seemed to include lots of things, depending on whose brain I was picking at.

I learned that neither of the vampires were restrained, something that didn't surprise me, Godric was too old to be restrained effectively, and from what I understood the other vampire was of similar age. I also learned their plans for Hugo; they didn't seem pleasant. My mind felt a slight sting of sympathy, I squashed it before it had a chance to blossom into full blown pity, he dug his own grave so to speak.

"We do have some special events coming up." The grey haired woman said, Polly, the events coordinator. "Tonight, we're having a special lock-in, and following that, we have a Sunday dawn ritual."

I knew exactly what that was from her mind, but feigned an innocent expression of interest.

"That sounds interesting. Is it literally at dawn?" I asked making big eyes, and trying to show that the mere idea of getting up _that_ early made my brain slow down further.

"Oh, yes, exactly. We called the weather service and everything." She said proudly, excitement bubbling through her.

Steve said, "You'll never forget one of our dawn services. It's inspiring beyond belief."

Frying vampires would sure make for an impressive sight.

"Really...what happens?" I asked.

"You will see the evidence of God's powers right before your eyes." Newland said gleefully.

I repressed the urge to ask, which God? There were a few I knew personally and some even intimately. I wasn't related to all the pantheons after all, and a girl has needs.

"Well doesn't that sound exciting?" I said looking at Hugo.

"Sure, does honey." He was getting antsy. Shit. "What time does the lock-in start?"

"It starts at six-thirty." Sarah said smoothly. "We want our members to get here before _they_ rise."

I suppose that would make sense. I wondered what happened on the other nights, did they have a policy for members not to go out at night? I wondered how they would enforce that. I have never been to a lock-in myself; there was no need in Underworld for such stupid things. It didn't sound at all pleasant being stuck in a room with a whole bunch of people all night, why would you want to do that when you had a perfectly fine bed at home?

Polly said, "You would be welcome to join us. We have plenty of food."

Hugo and I looked at each other. Hugo was uncertain, and my brain was plotting on hyper-drive.

"Why don't we go for a tour of the building, and you can see all there is to see? Then you can make up your minds," Sarah said.

"That would be great." I said brightly.

My quick acceptance took everyone back a little.

_Hold back the enthusiasm darling. You're laying it on a bit think_. Zi explained in my mind.

_I just want to get this over with_. I was ready to get out of there now, but I needed the location where they kept Godricl. I haven't gotten a clear picture of it yet.

Hugo had no choice but to follow along with me. He knew that there was no graceful way of getting out of this and I knew that we weren't going to be allowed to leave no matter how many excuses we made, I just decided to skip the bullshit.

While we walked down the corridor past all those offices, there was always someone stopping Steve to ask questions. I briefly wondered if the movement would function without him. I figured it might, with either Sarah or Polly at its head. They both seemed capable enough, if the church as a whole would overlook the fact that they were women. Churches in general didn't like females at their head. I wasn't sure why, I mean females were just as smart, and often more driven than males.

Most of the people we encountered were average Americans. If you didn't take into consideration the whole organisation that they worked for that is. There was one mind that was distinctly non-American; in fact it was non-human, I was pretty sure that she was actually American, just a different species of one.

We passed a skinny, thin Hispanic woman in the hall, and as her eyes flickered over us I read her mental signature as other. She was a shifter, like Sam Merlotte. I was rather surprised. I didn't know of that many natural born shifters like Sam. She must have caught my scent her nostrils flared. I hadn't bothered covering it today seeing as I wasn't going into a situation with supes until later, I should have known I'd manage to run into one anyway. Her eyes dilated slightly, and she looked at me with alarm. A shifter that knew her legends, or at least knew what was good for her health; how nice for her.

I gave her a small wink before continuing, safe in the knowledge that I will not see her in the building again tonight, she may not know exactly what I was, but she knew to get the hell out of my way. I had that effect on certain people, and if I wasn't confident it might have damaged my self-esteem, but I knew it was a natural response to the dangerous scent coming off me when I was pissed. I was very much in a mood right now. You wouldn't be able to tell that from the lovely smiling blond walking down the hall, but if you had a shifter's senses you'd smell trouble a mile away, no matter the pretty little package it came in, my scent screamed get the hell out of the way or you'll be toast.

"You know the original church was build here in the early sixties?" Sarah said. We have toured just about every inch of the blasted place, having walked from the opposite wing. I assumed the door in front of me was another exit. It made sense as it was located in the mirror position of the one we entered, but that wasn't the case this time.

"No. It must be lovely to be surrounded by so much history." I said agreeably.

She nodded. "Yes. Now there is just a little bit more to show you guys."

I felt their anticipation; finally the show was at its ending. Hugo was clueless, his earlier worry subsided and he was relaxed next to me now.

The door opened in front of us. I wasn't surprised that it led down. Basement would be the logical place to keep a vampire. Not very original, but logical.

I felt Hugo tense next to me, he was feeling like a fly just before the jaws of that lovely carnivorous plant close around it. I loved those plants; I had several in my gardens, but mine were for catching unwanted guests rather than flies, some Underworld plant species most definitely evolved into superior things. Of course, he was trying to hide his fears, brave stupid man.

Hugo was starting to shake his head from side to side, a physical reaction of denial his mind was going through. I wasn't sure, but he did look slightly green around the edges as reality set in, though why now something I'd never comprehend, did he think his fate would have been any better than here if he was left with the vampires. A few years ago he would have been dead and drained for his betrayal, and while I was all for the new non-lethal policy, I did wonder if it was a step forward sometimes.

"I think maybe we can save this part for another time." I said deciding to do a half hearted attempt at stalling.

"But you really need to see what we have downstairs." Steve said with a pleasant smile. "There is a fully equipped bomb-shelter. I am sure you would find that fascinating. I also need to speak to Gabe while we are downstairs. It will only take a few minutes."

I knew it would take considerably longer than that. I kept my mouth shut. The son of a bitch was enjoying this too much as it is. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of playing scared. I wasn't even worried, just frustrated. It was already close to five. We had spent the last hour and a bit here, pointlessly walking around. I wanted to get on with things already.

Hugo's panic seemed to dissipate as we went down. He seemed to have reached some sort of conclusion. He really couldn't' imagine anything irreparable happening to him. He was a middle-class American with a college education, so were the people on the stairs with us. They were all civilised people after all.

I knew no such thing. I was not wholly civilised. I knew what they were thinking. I knew what a lot of other humans thought; it was nothing civilized, or humane. I wasn't a saint either, then again I never pretended to be. I didn't need to; I was a goddess, or half of me was.

At the bottom of the stairs was another door.

Sarah knocked on it in a quick pattern which I didn't bother to memorize, I wouldn't need it anyway.

Another man opened the door. He was one of those creeps that I was all too familiar with, if I could read his aura it would be dark as night. Violence clung to him like second skin, it may not have a smell, but I have seen enough souls to know which ones enjoyed the pain of others, and the man in front of me now was one of them.

"Steve, you've brought me visitors." He said in a jovial voice. He seemed very excited about something. I didn't go in his head to find out what it was, I had a sneaking suspicion I would know soon enough. "While Sarah is showing our visitors the shelter, maybe you can come and have a look at the guest-room?" He nodded his head in the direction of a narrow door to the left; there was another door at the end of the corridor and one on the right side.

I wondered which guest they were having problems with the one that volunteered or the one that was coerced to stay here by his friend.

We walked towards the room that would surely serve as our own personal prison, and when the lights turned on I was surprised to discover it really was a shelter.

"This is really impressive." I said truthfully enough. They may have their priorities twisted, but they sure didn't lack enthusiasm. Dangerous for the vampires. Dangerous for humans.

I turned around in time to see the door swinging shut. The locks slipped into place with an ominous thud; Hugo and I had been locked in the bomb shelter.

_How exactly is being locked in this shit hole productive in your search?_ Zi's voice was sweetly innocent. I knew better. Sneaky little shit.

_You know exactly how, you shit. I'm simply waiting for the area to clear. I don't fancy too many explanations, plus I want a chance to talk to this Godfrey before we go. _I was very much interested in a vampire that would choose to meet the sun. It was a fascinating idea, why die when you could live forever?

Hugo was pacing in front of the door. I sat down on the closest cot to wait. I kept a light touch on the other active brains on this floor, there were to voids as well. Sarah and Polly already made their way upstairs. Steve and Gabe were in one of the other guest rooms. The other two rooms were both occupied by vampires, neither one was asleep. I hated waiting.

A few minutes later and Hugo's pacing was making me antsy, my own foot started to tap away at the bed leg before I caught myself and stopped.

"Hugo, what time is it?" I asked.

He stopped pacing long enough to check his watch.

"It's five thirty." Two hours until the sun set. He seemed to be getting more and more agitated. A brief glance in his head told me that he remembered what happened; Stan's glamour wore off, the only thing he couldn't figure out; who and where I fit into the whole scenario. I looked nothing like the brunette at the vampire's nest last night. While I was in his head I realised saw else that made me furious so quickly I felt a wave of heat escape me before I could control it.

"You called them last night!" I said in a low voice.

Hugo whirled around to face me, a look of confusion and panic on his face. I would have laughed, but I was too pissed off for laughter.

"You told them about Bethany," I spoke slowly this time around, trying to regain some semblance of control. Bomb shelter and a pissed off Hade's daughter were something of a safety hazard no matter how you would look at it. "They took her. They tortured her, and then they killed her."

A pleasant piece of news I'd learned from Gabe, the friendly evil torture in the church dungeon.

"What are you talking about?"

"You fucking idiot! Did you think you could get away with spying on vampires? Did you think they would not find out? You were sent here today as a decoy, _they_ already knew about you." My voice had gotten progressively icier.

_Lex, breathe. He's an idiot. You need to relax or you're going to blow this place up, or something_. Zi said, the ultimate voice of reason when I didn't want one.

The poor girl was dead. I missed the tv report because I slept it and thanks to spying in on the conversation down the hall just found out what had happened to her.

Hugo's face turned white, all colour leaving his skin as ghostly as a vampire.

"No…I didn't have anything to do with her. I didn't…they wouldn't…" He stammered.

I laughed, and there was no humour in it. Hugo's eyes widened even more, if that were possible, because the laugh was more evil than even I cared to admit. I was taking too much pleasure in enlightening this senseless imbecile.

"Do you really believe that?" I asked, a sick smile twisting my lips. "You really think these people are better than the vampires they are trying to destroy? Do you really think they care about the girl?... Do you think they care what happens to you?"

He was shaking the head. Denial was a man's best friend apparently.

"At least vampires are the way they are because it is in their nature to be violent. Their nature is that of a predator. Can you say the same about the humans here? Is there a reason for their violence?" I asked, snarling as my temper made me drop the glamour, the pretty blond façade breaking and slipping off me like water as my darker features formed in its place. I had no doubt in my mind that I looked fierce enough to scare an army of daemons into retreating.

Hugo took a step back. His heart picked up a hasty rhythm. I smelled his fear in the air. Good, he recognized me now.

"What?...They aren't like that." He said voice uncertain for the first time. "I've been helping them."

"Do you really think they care about you? Who are you to them but source of information? Expendable." I said drawling out the last word.

"It's not like that." He was shaking, and I was enjoying it.

"Really? Then what is it like?" I sneered. "You think they will give you a pat on the back? Protect you from Stan? Let you out of here alive?"

I wasn't sure if he got the picture yet.

"Hugo. You are nothing to them expect a vampire's whore."

He didn't answer, I didn't need him to. I felt Gabe getting closer. Newland finally left.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked it. Please R & R, I've missed hearing from y'all!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yay! Another update. Thank you so much for the continuing love everyone, I know I've been incredibly slack with my updates lately. It's just that with things going on in RL, and well, my muses have been giving me a little trouble. **

**Good news; I've got another chapter of Dying Heart almost ready to post, and other stuff that's almost finished brewing. :) In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one. **

**I do apologies in advance for any mistakes as this chapter has not been beta'ed by anyone apart from myself, and alas, I'm extremely blind when it come to my own stuff. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to CH and HBO.**

A small aperture opened in the door. I hadn't noticed it before now. A face appeared in the opening.

"How you doing in there, you two?" Gabe asked through the little window with a smile, thought the shadows dancing in his eyes told me a different story all together.

"Just dandy. Do you have any magazines I can read while I'm here? Oh, and also a bottle of water for my friend, he seems to be a little shaky," I asked. I looked happy as a ladybug, and sweet too.

Both of them stared at me for a moment like I had gone insane. They just didn't get it. Zionos laughed though, he always got my humour.

"I want out. She knows everything." Hugo said to Gabe, determined not to believe me, even with all the facts staring him in the face so to speak. You could lead a horse to water, and all that crap.

"I got a better idea. Steve won't be back for a while and I get awfully bored down here." Gabe said in a lazy tone. "I have another friend of yours down the hall. I'm sure you would like to see him. You must have met Godric while residing with the Evil Ones?"

"Yes." Hugo answered uneasily, a slither of doubt about his current situation finally making its way into his mind, and his face.

"You know how fond Godric's gonna be of you? He's been hungry for days now. So why don't you go and keep him company while I have some fun with this pretty little traitor."

I guessed from the way he was eyeing me, I was the pretty little traitor. I didn't bother moving from the bed. I figured Gabe wasn't stupid enough to come in here without some kind of weapon, or do anything while Hugo was still in the room. While it might not hurt me, I didn't want Hugo dying because of me either. I had no idea why that was the case, but I didn't.

_Maybe because you know he's going to get off easy if he does?_ Zi asked me.

_Nope._ I didn't think about that. Sure, I was pissed off at him for his treachery, but that was Isabel and Stan's problem, not mine.

Once the door swung open I saw that I was correct. Gabe carried a gun in his left hand.

"Godric!" I called. I figured since he was awake he'd hear me.

"Yes." A voice answered from somewhere behind Gabe. I heard movement, faint, but it was there none the less. No chains, a good sign. I'd have been more worried if these idiots managed to subdue a vampire Godric's age.

"You done with your vacation? Cos' Stan's ready to have you back." I said with a smile on my face. I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard a small chuckle. At least another person got me.

Gabe glared. He was smart enough not to get close just yet, or maybe he was just waiting until we were alone, probably the latter.

"Hugo get out of the room and shut the door." He said, all the while glaring my way.

The surprising thing; Hugo did just that. Too defeated with all the revelations of the night his mind just shut down itself from the shock. I couldn't say I felt sorry for him. He got out without a backward glance at me and Gabe closed the door behind them, leaving me alone for a short while.

With Hugo gone I stood up, making sure I had plenty of space to move, if needed, before I slowly peeled away the disguise. I was not going to let Gabe of easy, because he did not deserve that much charity. I wanted him to see my true face before I dealt with him.

It didn't take him long. The door opened for the second time. Gabe was already smiling as he walked in. It was a nasty smile, letting all the ugliness leak out of his soul through his mouth and eyes. This really was his idea of a good time.

The smiled wavered when he spotted me.

"What the hell?" He said eyes darting around the room looking for the pretty blond that was me moments earlier.

"I thought you might enjoy a brunette more. No?" I asked with a hand on my hip.

"Were you wearing a wig all this time?" I don't think he realised that more than my hair changed. "It doesn't really matter anyway. I'll enjoy you no matter the colour of your hair."

He started to advance towards me, the ugly smile back on his face. Such was his confidence he had already put the gun somewhere outside, it made things infinitely easier.

_Can I come out and play? Please…_ Zi begged. He really didn't like Gabe, or any other scumbag like him.

I ignored him for now. Zi wouldn't poach from me anymore than I would step into his fight.

"Does this really turn you on? Raping innocent women?" I asked him. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to take this farce of a show. I hated rapists. He'll get his punishment below, but I needed to take my anger over Bethany out on somebody, and he presented such an easy target right now. Gabe's steps faltered when he finally came to realise I wasn't afraid. Most rapists enjoyed the fear of their victims more than anything else. The begging, pleading, and screaming turned them on. In the proper course of things I should be screaming for help, or pleading with him not to do this. Hysterics of some sorts would probably be expected right about now.

I stood calm, ready for him.

He stopped, unsure how to proceed in the face of such calmness.

"How many women have you raped? How many more will it be until you die?" I asked him tilting my head to the side, my eyes sliding into slits as I watched him. A predator watching prey moments before sinking its teeth into the soft flesh, I never pretended to be human; my instincts were more akin to that of an animal sometimes.

Generally curious about his answer, I waited, I didn't really need a vocal answer myself, but I felt one of the voids moving closer. Someone else wanted to hear that answer also.

"As many as I can find, bitch, and you'll be next." He said raising his hand to backslap me as he stepped closer.

He didn't touch me.

I had him wrapped in my power before he could even get close. It was too easy. His eyes widened as he realised he couldn't move. I felt him trying, but he couldn't even speak. I made sure of that.

I stalked towards him, watching his eyes dilate, hearing his heartbeat rise, smelling fear starting to roll off him as he realised I was in control of him.

"You know, there is a special place for people like you, Gabe." I said, letting menace colour my words, my face showing every bit of loathing I felt for someone of his kind. "Once you die, there is no redemption for you. You will be going to hell. I know, I've been in charge of the gates there, and they'll just love you, I'm sure of that." And I knew as sure as hell that he wouldn't enjoy the brand of love hell had to offer him, but I didn't add that.

He looked incredulous. Of course he wouldn't believe me, even while being imprisoned by invisible force, he still didn't understand. If a weird stranger came up to you and said, "Hey, you're going to hell and I'll be passing judgment on you", would you believe her? Looney. That's what you'd think. Alas, I was almost done playing with him, his fate decided; I felt the shades hiding in the shadow, waiting for his soul.

"You don't believe me, darling. You will soon enough." I said, turning my attention to the shades I watched them swirl out of the darkness, a force most believed to be evil. They were not, just different. "Darlings, you're welcome to him, make sure he gets his judgment."

They knew me and silently acknowledged my instructions before swirling closer to their victim. They will carry him to the gates of hell, for that was where he would be going.

Hell was real. It was truth. Humans were right to fear it, but not for reasons that they do. I have seen plenty so called Christians come before me and be sent to their own damnation because being a man of faith did not make you less guilty of the atrocities you have committed. Just before the shadows engulfed him I gave Gabe a mental picture of his future, he shrieked, pure terror riding his heart into a wild staccato beat.

Underworld was not a place for eternal life. It was the place where souls would be taken to recuperate. We were not the final home; we were the ones that did the dirty work. Punishing were it was needed, rewarding those who deserved some peace. In the end every one of those souls would re-incarnate and live. Whether you finally achieved the necessary knowledge to ascend, was not up to us. I looked at the human before me, my soul cried out at the suffering, he made himself blind in this lifetime, and he would suffer for it. I opened my mind and made sure he could see what awaited him; his own personal hell, every one of his nightmares, all the monsters that he feared. He screamed as the images washed over him. All the wrongs he has ever done being done to him, but not over a lifetime, or years, or hours. It happened in seconds. The mental pain, and physical as well, all too real to him in that moment.

I didn't need to kill him. His heart stopped on its own. He finally got a taste of his own medicine and he couldn't take it even a drop of it, but then again, sometimes it was just your time to die. I could hear his soul screaming as it was carried away through the unseen portal and towards the fate that had it oh-so-scared. I'd be scared to if I had done what he has in such a short life.

I let out an unsteady breath trying to suppress the urge to call him back and do more damage. It was the right thing to do, even if I craved for violence as recompense, he would suffer enough for his crimes. Zi agreed.

"Who are you?" The question floated into the room, soft as a whisper. I completely forgot about my undead audience.

He was standing in the doorway, his eyes shifting between me and Gabe's body that was floating in the middle of the room. I let it drop to the floor, it was a lifeless carcass, eyes dull after the shades whisked away the evil spirit that resided in it. It hit the floor with a lifeless thud, arms and legs spread in unnatural angles. The sound bouncing off the wall with a finality that would have been eerie, disturbing to humans, but neither one of us reacted, both too interested in each other. Curiosity in my case, more caution in his.

He didn't look all that imposing, and yet I felt energy rolling off him in waves. He was very old, much older than Eric, but for all his power he had a body of a teenager. He looked no older than sixteen years old, blond and shirtless. His arms and body covered with blue tattoos. His faces expressionless save a small flicker of curiosity in his eyes, and those dark green eyes told a story of their own. An ancient teenager forever trapped in a body that did not reflect the power behind those eyes. It was a look of someone who has seen too much death, a look that spoke of almost unbearable pain hidden deep behind a mask.

I looked just as calmly back at him, letting my own power pulse through me. My fingertips tingled with its vibrations, it beat against my skin like butterfly wings, and yet stinging as well, a bittersweet sensation. I knew that in that moment with the power riding me as it was I looked even less human than he did.

"My name is Alessandra Hellion, Princess of Underworld," I said. "And I believe you must be the vampire that lured Godric away from his nestmates."

I knew who he was, I saw him in Bethany's memories.

He nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment. His eyes, when he looked back up, were hooded, calculating.

"I am Godfrey. I have heard of Underworld, but I have never seen anything to suggest of its existence." He told me honestly. His voice was barely above a whisper, monotonous. I could almost say dead. A voice that showed his age as well, for all that it sounded young it was a voice of someone who has stopped living.

Surprised, I answered with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. "You've been alive for close to two millennia, and never met a daemon, or any other creature from Underworld. I find that hard to believe." He had to be kidding me, daemons loved to mingle in the human world. Sure they are a lot of trouble when residing up here, which is a constant headache for us, but then again, they are a lot of trouble anywhere. They are daemons, and that is their nature.

"I have met daemons, but I have yet to see proof of Underworld." He said.

_What kind of pixie brained idiot had he met if he still ain't a believer?_ Zi asked doing his best to imitate the wonderful Southern twang we've both grown fond of in the past year. Beats me.

"Well, looks like you will get your own personal look at Underworld tomorrow after sunrise." I said, false cheerfulness colouring my words.

He looked slightly surprised, as surprised as an ancient vampire could look I guess, which was such a minute reaction, most would have missed it.

"You really believe I will go somewhere after this life is over, do you not?" Godfrey asked me tilting his head a little to the left. I got the feeling this was a question that bugged him for a while now, a few millennium maybe? Who knew? Most vampires didn't believe in having retained their souls after their first death. Your soul sold for eternal life that was the choice they were forced to make. It wasn't true, and hardly any of the older ones had a choice, they were simply made.

Gabe was still on the floor between us, gone to get his judgement, unquestionable proof; I looked back up at Godfrey. "Well, yes. Everyone comes to us eventually. Everyone, who was once human, anyway, vampires included."

He seemed thoughtful again, I let him think, my attention diverting to the whimpering coming from behind him. Godric and Hugo. Why I was here in the first place, I needed to move before Stan did.

"I'd love to stay and chat but, I really need to get Godric to safety. You can fry yourself for these idiots if that is your wish, not that I understand why you would, but it's your choice in the end." I shouldn't get too distracted by Godfrey, who knew when we will get checked and then I'll be in a lot of trouble. Gabe said nobody comes down here, but I found from experience that luck usually ran bad when you least expect it.

Godfrey's eyes flashed with anger. "Vampires are abominations. I should know, I am one."

"Everyone has the capacity to be evil. Trust me, I've seen it." I said, resigned. "Vampires are not purely evil. Nothing is truly evil. Things are what they are, because that is how they are made, nature is not an evil in and off itself, it just is."

Small lines around his eyes betrayed the turbulence inside him, and yet, I felt he was not convinced. "We are evil creatures. Nothing in us is human anymore. We should not be aloud to live."

"Then you can die tomorrow morning and promote the freaking circus those idiots upstairs have created." I was getting angry, my power was still beating through me, a wild bird battering at its cage looking for freedom it has grown to love. "What makes you think these people are better than what you are? Do you believe what they do is right, just, good?"

I noticed that he was starving. His cheeks were drawn and he was deathly white, more than any vampire I have seen in a long time. Could malnutrition affect vampires in the same way it affects humans?

_Maybe so, his brain is obviously not working._ Zi whispered, and given my current mood I was working hard to suppress laughter. Godfrey would not appreciate me laughing in his face, even if I explained why, something told me his sense of humour ran in a different direction to mine, or Zi's.

"They at least are human," he said. "We are an abomination."

"You wish me no harm, which is not what I can say about the human who is lying there, or about a lot of the ones upstairs right now." I told him flatly, I saw the things Gabe wanted to do to me. His mind was not full of goodness, he enjoyed causing pain, and he got off on it.

"But we take the blood of innocents," Godfrey said, with a faraway look in his eyes. A haunted look.

"Who is innocent?" Not many were.

"Well, children are," Godfrey said. He had to think a bit before he said it, maybe for the first time realising that his plan was not the ideal situation.

"You fed on children." It was statement not a question, sometimes those vampires that got turned too early stayed trapped in more than just their body. He had certain needs…his body responded to someone smaller than he was, but not to seek pleasure, a terrible fate. That haunted look in his eyes made me wonder what was it that made him want to give the ultimate sacrifice in order to escape from this life.

"I killed children." He announced.

Ah!

He's nature was a twisted one. I felt pity well up in my chest, making my heart hurt for him in ways I didn't think was possible for me to hurt for someone with such crimes at their doorstep. He has butchered innocents for a long tie. He was a true monster in ever sense, evil, if there was such a thing, and I felt pity for him regardless. In those three words there was more than just regret, there was suffering the like you see from those who have been in hell their whole lives. Some souls have carried a piece of hell with them through their lifetime, it was their punishment. He may be one of those souls, and that was truly something to pity.

"No, Godfrey. Guilt in crimes is not just the action, but the intent behind it as well. Some cannot help themselves, and feel the guilt even whilst doing something they know is wrong, but others enjoy the wrongdoing." I told him. Seeing confusion in his eyes, I continued. "Tell me, do you feel that by participating in the ritual tomorrow it will help you to redeem yourself?"

"I thought I would be helping a cause that was right."

"By giving yourself and another as sacrifice? So others get to judge you, and someone else?" I needed him to be aware of this. "They have no right to judge something they do not understand themselves. They are no better than you, or others who have caused pain, they only do it in a different way. Do you still feel like they should be present while you face your conscious?"

He lowered his eyes, but I saw understanding and pain in them before he turned away. He truly thought he was doing the right thing.

"Would you still meet the sun without the fanfare of this so called church?"

His eyes flew to my face, I saw determination there.

"I would."

I nodded. That was good.

"Then walk away from here. I'll find you before the sun rise and be your witness, but these people, they don't need to be. I will guide you down the final road in this life, and help you find that which you have sought, without judgment, or condemnation. I will witness." Mystical me, dad would be proud.

He thought about it for so long, and was so still, that I wasn't sure he'd accept. At last, in what seemed like hours rather than minutes, he nodded.

"Thank you."

My smile was genuine even if it didn't quite reach my eyes. I knew that before he moved on there would be more suffering and pain, not matter what I said, he had a lot to make up for. He had already suffered, and yet, he had to atone, he had to forgive himself.

"Now we both have somewhere else to be."

I moved towards him, he was still standing between me and the door moving away just enough to let me pass. I knew without any doubt that he will listen, and sunrise tomorrow will be something I'd remember for centuries to come. My heart was heavy with the knowledge of what was coming as I moved soundlessly down the deserted hall, but I had other things to take care of now. A vampire and a traitor to rescue and get safely out of here.

I reached the door where Godric was held, feeling the void of his mind behind it, and the panicked thoughts of Hugo who huddled in a corner of the cell. His eyes were glazed over in shock, body rocking uncontrollably and from the panic and disorientation in his head it wasn't hard to figure out that he was in shock. Was I going to leave him behind so he could be the Fellowhip's scapes goat, no, I had to take him back. He knew entirely too much about the vampire world, knew about me, and what had happened here. I was not part of it, but I knew the humans would not understand their way of life, they barely accepted them now, if Hugo talked it would be catastrophic. Godric could glamour the information from him, but something told me Stan was not finished with him yet.

On the other side of the cell was Godric, again I knew what he looked like, but the uncanny resemblance between the vampire in front of me now, and the one I had left behind in the other room rattled. Were they brothers before being turned, or did their maker choose them because of how they looked was something to speculate on later though. A dark thought crossed my mind and I hoped I was wrong. What if their maker chose them because of other things, darker things, and that made me wonder just what crimes could really be laid at their door because of how they were re-made, and what they had been taught after their first death.

Much like Godfrey, Godric looked young, maybe a few years older though, as his features looked on the brink of adulthood, forever caught between that of a boy and man. His blue eyes followed me with lazy alertness, and he looked pale, much too pale. He hadn't fed from Hugo. I also noticed small chains on his neck. Silver. They did put chains on him. Why would he tolerate them? They would not immobilise him, but only weaken and cause pain.

"Who are you?" his voice came out more a growl. The earlier banter we shared through walls had been replaced by fear of the unknown, and when an ancient vampire fears you, they usually kill you.

"I would be your rescue team. I think you need to feed before I take the silver off." He had a thing silver chain wrapped around him, something that would have been easy to miss unless you were looking for it. I wondered how much it hurt and how much restraint it took not to show the weakness no doubt the silver made him feel. Could such a small piece of silver truly imprison a vampire as old as him?

He looked at me with no trust in his eyes. He looked me up and down, I know what he saw was not very impressive. "You are what they send to rescue me? You are one human." I knew what he implied.

"Perceptions can be skewed, you may have had some experience with that" After all, I wasn't the only one who looked out of place with their reputation. "You need to feed before we leave." I was not going to offer my body as well, and letting him feed now, while he still had the silver on him was best. I came up to him close, and though he looked younger he was taller than me. Hard to look intimidating when you are the one looking up at someone, but I have mastered the art, besides in Godric's case I didn't have to look up high, that did help. "Now, we can continue to play the big bad wolf and little lamb. I can assure you now, I am not the lamb. We are still in the basement of the Fellowship were others could walk in on us, and while Gabe deserved what he got I am in no mood to harm innocents."

Maybe implying that he was helpless was not a good way to start building trust, but I was starting to get impatient, sunset will be here soon enough and time was running out.

"And how exactly do you propose we get out of here after you have freed me without bloodshed?" He asked.

"Let me worry about that." I told him and brought my hand to his face, not quiet within reach. "I want your agreement that you will stop when I tell you to."

His eyes were already focusing on the pulse, and I heard his fangs slide down. I waited until he looked up at me, and nodded. I needed him to be aware he was making this agreement. Bloodlust was not to be taken lightly, a vampire as old as him was fully in control in most situations, unless he chose not to be, but bloodlust made even the older ones choose the easier way out.

"It will hurt." He told me honestly.

"I know."

"Why would you do this?"

"Because you'll drain him dry if I don't." I indicated to the shuddering cowed person in the corner.

"I do not need that much blood," He said. "He betrayed us."

"He did. And I'm not about to take the risk of you accidentally draining him." I told him truthfully. I wasn't going to take any of his blood, so while I'd feel his emotions I to some extent it wouldn't be near as intense as what I shared with Eric and would wear off quickly enough.

He gave me a look. "He deserves death, does he not?"

I searched his face, trying to find out if he truly believed what he was asking me.

"If that is what you decided as a nest, I have no way of stopping you, but I do not believe you think he does." I told him honestly.

Godric let out a small sigh, a very uncharacteristic action of a vampire his age. "No. I do not. If it was not for the fact that I am injured I would not be feeding from you as well."

That surprised me more than anything else he said. "Why not?"

"I should not. I am tired of this life." He said in a whisper, an echo of the words I heard earlier.

"Did you hear what I said to Godfrey?" He nodded. "Then, I extend the same courtesy to you, should you choose to walk that path, but in your case I know of several others who would wish to speak to you tonight, to say their farewell, or try and see if you would stay with them. Give that chance to those who care about you, they need it." My thoughts were only with Eric, remembering his inner turmoil from last night.

"You smell of him you know." Godric said after a moment.

I nodded. "Yes, we have exchanged blood, but you are his sire, so I can give you mine without causing offense. Take as much as you need, do not worry about me."

"Something only vampires would know." He said with a raised eyebrow, but his attention shifted to my wrist after that.

I lifted it to his lips, and he bit. It was not a pleasant bite. I was not ready for the pain, but held in the whimper bubbling up in my throat. As pain goes, this was not that bad.

There is a reason why vampires prefer to take blood during sex; both sides find pleasure in it, the blood is also sweeter whilst pleasure infused. This was not pleasant, it was necessary.

Godric sucked greedily at my wrist. If I were human, I would start to feel weak, light headed, and pass out within minutes, I was not human. My body regenerated itself quickly enough and so I had a lot of blood to give.

I saw colour gradually return to his face. While he was sucking on my wrist I used my free hand to peel off the chains from his body. The angry flesh left behind as the metal came away from the body looked painful. Godric drank more, and the wounds that would have taken a day and a night more to heal, closed and smoothed. My blood was potent, I was goddess.

I looked at his face again, he was positively pinkish. I tried to pull my wrist back. He growled a little, maybe my blood was more addictive than I realised. I let my power snake around him, binding him in place better than any silver could.

"Enough, Godric. You've had enough for now." I said, gently coaxing him out of his bloodlust. He finally let go, eyes still glazed over with a look of sheer animalistic need; bloodlust was not an emotion I was unfamiliar with. It called to me like an old lover. I knew the pure ecstasy of it. I may not drink blood into my body, but Lilliane and Zionos did, and through them so did I. Gifts from the gods always came with a price. This one was mine to bear.

We stood a while staring at each other, trying to calm the beast inside. I have no idea how much time had passed. It was not important in that moment. I felt my heart slow down, my breathing return to normal. When I found my voice again, making sure that it would be steady, I spoke. "Can you control yourself enough?"

He nodded. Eyes focused on my face, a questions burning in them. He had drained more blood than two humans could hold in them from me. I knew he had questions. Those will have to wait. I let him go slowly, being cautious. Vampires unlike fairies could promise you the moon and the stars in the same breath as they drain you dry. I shouldn't have worried; Godric was more cautious of me than I of him. He stayed in the same spot, only moving his arms slightly to ascertain that he could move.

"I will need to transport you to the hotel room at Silent Shore before you go back to your nest." I said taking a step back from him for good measure. "It's light-tight, and we can go there without worrying of burning that pretty skin of yours."

He didn't say much, a raised eye-brow above questioning eyes. I hated that look. Well, no I didn't. It was one of those looks that said whatever you wanted it to, without saying anything at all. A look that helped you talk yourself into all sorts of trouble if you weren't careful. One that Eric seemed to have inherited from his maker.

"We won't need to go upstairs. Can you glamour him." I nodded my head towards Hugo, who was still sitting silently in the corner.

"Yes. But I want to drain him instead." Godric said with a rumbling growl. His eyes turned more predatory.

_Wasn't he supposed to be the peaceful one?_ Zi asked me.

_It may be the effects of my blood._

_I think I prefer this one to Eric._ He told me. Sure he would, Eric just wanted to fuck me into oblivion.

"No. We need him alive. If he turns up dead and drained everyone will look towards the vamps." I told him. "You don't need that kind of press. You don't need the problems."

Godric looked at Hugo for a long moment. I held my breath. Tense, waiting to step in and protect the human if needed. The action wasn't needed. Godric just shrugged his shoulders after a moment, looking more relaxed than before, the underlying violence in him dissipating from one breath to the next. My breaths, he didn't breathe.

"Do what you will. Just keep him away from me, but how do you propose we go from here to the hotel without being noticed?"

"That, I will show you soon, but I need you to glamour him, please, so he's more compliant."

He did and we arrived in my rooms at the hotel with enough time to spare. Godric turned slightly green after the trip; vampires generally disliked my mode of transportation. I didn't blame him. It had taken me years to get used to the sensations. I put Hugo in a chair at the other side of the room from Godric, who seemed to be happy enough to plonk himself onto the couch and turn on the tv. He didn't even react to our change in location, Godric had done a thorough job, and I hoped it wasn't too thorough. Hugo needed some brain cells after all.

I ordered room service - food may not be a necessity for me, but I enjoyed it - and climbed into bed cuddling back under Eric's arm. Snuggling into his chest like it was a pillow. I let my senses get overwhelmed with Eric, breathing in his dry, masculine scent. Feelings of contentment and safety washed over me, my body naturally relaxing into his. My world narrowed down to the perfect cool chest in front of my face, the arms holding me, and wonderful smell of vampire and man. I luxuriated in the feeling.

I knew the moment the sun had set, feeling the magic that made vampires come back to life seep into my lover's body. I started kissing his chest slowly, savouring the sweet taste of the smooth skin. He took his first breath, a sharp inhale of air that made his chest swell under my hands, and face. I kept exploring down, enjoying the feel of him beneath me. A noise of pleasure vibrated through him making me shiver. I knew his eyes were on me, but I kept going, making my way down the expanse of bare skin in front of me, feasting on my own personal banquet. I wanted to give back some of the wonderful pleasure he had gifted me with last night.

"Lexie."

His voice sounded strained. I looked up to an expression of lust and wonder on his face. I wondered if he ever trusted anyone to wake up with him beyond his child and maker. My hands slid around his waist. His body was so male, beautiful, and mine.

I took him in my mouth watching him arch his back in pleasure. He tasted wonderful, and I couldn't get enough. I licked, sucking the length of him, so hard. I felt my own body getting tight, wet, pleasure pulling between my legs as I continued my ministrations. I had this warrior at my mercy, writhing in pleasure I caused; a heady feeling.

"Lexie, enough," he said in a voice full of dark passion that told me he was close to his release.

I didn't listen, instead increasing the steady rhythm of lips, and tongue, and hands. I wanted to taste him. All of him. I felt his body tense under me, he made a sound somewhere between a growl and a yell, spilling himself in my mouth. I took in every drop, savouring the taste of him. I kept on licking as the aftermath of his pleasure racked his body wanting him to enjoy the moment. Eric had other ideas. With a fierce growl he pulled me off, spreading me open in front of him like a scrumptious feast. The look on his face told me he was past control. I didn't want him otherwise. I was too hot and painful aroused. My body tight and wet, wanting.

He bit the inside of my thigh and I felt his fingers enter me at the same time. I screamed as the orgasm took me. My body fell into a million pieces. The pleasure and pain mixed in wave after wave of exquisite ecstasy. He pulled on the wound, and I came for him. Over, and over, pleasure rode me, until he'd had his fill of me. His fingers stroked me as I shuddered in the aftermath.

We lay there after both of us had been satisfied. Hands exploring each others bodies in slow patterns of undistinguishable things.

I sighed, knowing that we had to get back to reality. "We need to get dressed, Godric is in the other room," I said. Eric tensed next to me, his fingers stopping their movements and hovering over my skin.

"He is here." Eric repeated my words slowly.

"Yes. I left him watching tv in the living room." I told him.

He stayed silent for so long and I could barely feel a whisper of him inside that I ended up shifting to see his face. It was blank.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't meet my eyes. "He was blocking the bond before."

"You didn't realise he was there?" I asked with surprise.

"No."

Eric showered first. My food had arrived while we'd been busy, and Pam barged in with carrying the tray whilst I was getting out of the shower, probably hoping to catch us in the middle of something. The eager look of excitement being replaced with disappointment on her face made me chuckle, but one look at Eric and I stopped mid laugh. He didn't was finishing buttoning his shirt as he walked towards Pam, who barely had time to shift out of his way.

Balancing the tray in one hand she closed the door behind him and turned on the tv in our room. I ate whilst we watched a Dr Phill re-run. It was loud, but it did drown out the voices in the next room. It's hard having any privacy when everyone around you could hear through doors.

Whatever they had talked about didn't take long, as we were heading to Stan's within an hour of sunset. Eric was driving the Lexus with Godric sitting in the passengers sear. I was stuck in the middle at the back seat; Pam refused to sit next to the dead blood bag. Her choice of words.

Eric must have called down to get the car ready while Pam entertained me with Dr Phil, since it had been waiting for us outside the front doors of the hotel when we came out. I wore another dress. It was a lovely shade of violet, light and ethereal looking, I hated the femininity, but needed to make myself look unthreatening tonight. The lovely light material draped over one shoulder in Grecian style. An empire waist made the skirt flow down just above my knees in waves. The fabric light, almost translucent, and the violet colour a startling contrast to the darkness of my hair and whiteness of my luminescent skin, made me look almost fragile. Almost. Pam helped to tame my hair while were waiting, she's a good ladies maid. I would never say it to her face though, but I did compliment her in a round-about way.

When I had stepped into the living room behind a gloating Pam, and noticed Eric's reaction to me, I hadn't been certain how far we'd make it tonight. It took him a couple of minutes to gain control of himself. I think Pam considered that revenge enough. I, on the other hand, basked in his attention, it was mesmerizing. The look a man gives a woman when he is imagining all the things he would do to her. My blood heated under that scorching gaze. I let him know with my eyes that I appreciated his silent compliment. I let him know I desired him as well. My gaze travelled over his body, taking in the broad chest under the grey silk shirt, the large thighs encased in lovely dark denim. His long blond hair braided back. I knew my eyes matched his heat. It could have been the reason why he took a few steps towards me before Pam butted in. For once I had to thank her or we never would have made it out of the room. Thank Pam. Now that's ironic

The car ride was silent. The vampires were tense. Hugo was terrified. His fear made the whole car reek, which was part of the reason why the vampires were so tense. There are not humans, they are hunters and to them he smelled delicious. Damn.

I felt Pam's body, tense next to me, shudder as Hugo worked through a particularly noisy couple of breaths.

"Eric, open the damn windows," I said with force.

He complied, surprising me. The sneak was enjoying the game of cat and mouse. I felt my irritation rise, but then let go of it. Why bother? He was nothing if not shameless.

Pam relaxed slightly next to me, I felt her slight shift as she got more comfortable. Vampires didn't have to move all that much, but seeing as the left half of my body was pressed against her. It was a hard thing to miss. Her bored looked stayed plastered on though, hard thing to crack that.

I didn't mind the silence it. It was soothing. I used the time to go over my story mentally. Preparing for the spotlight I was about to receive.

The house when we arrived was all light up, spilling warm light onto the lawn in front of it. We entered to the sound of applause and happy greetings, something rather unusual when it comes to vampires. Stan was at the front door. No doubt to greet Godric, I was too unimportant in his books. Godric entered first. He had a big smile on his face. He hugged Stan. Odd that. Vampires were not into public displays. I wondered briefly if that piece of affection had an ulterior motive. It was hard to tell. Vampire politics were what they were, and everything had more than one meaning in their world.

Eric escorted me in on his arm. From the appreciative looks we got I knew we looked good together, light and dark, two halves of a whole. I even caught a few jealous thought from the humans present. It made the small smile on my face feel more genuine.

Pam escorted Hugo behind us.

"Miss Hellion. I am impressed with your…resourcefulness," Stan said when he finally turned my way after greeting Eric and Pam first. "You have gotten our brother back and for that we are grateful."

"Thank you, Mr Davies." I inclined my head to him. Keeping my answer short and sweet, I didn't need any powers to know I'll be talking enough later on.

I was right. Two hours later, we were sitting in the dinning room again and I've been talking for a while. Stan was sitting at the head of the table, flanked by Godric and another vampire, I didn't remember from my last visit. I sat on the opposite side, Pam and Eric on either side. My back was to the door, which made me slightly edgy. Zionos was going positively mental at me being placed in such a vulnerable position, but I couldn't not sit here. Can you just imagine that, Stan, darling, do you think I can sit with my back to the wall, my tattooed jaguar doesn't like this seat? Yeah, I don't think so either, I've had enough to explain without that extra little bit of information.

"You can teleport." Stan said, eyebrows raised high above his geeky glasses.

I gave him my best smile and said. "Yes, Mr Davies. I can."

He stared in silence, a vampire stare. The look that is meant to make humans all scared and spill their inner most thoughts. Maybe he was trying to glamour me, that wouldn't work. I looked back. My pulse beat under my skin in lazy rhythms, I looked serene, and I still wore a smile, true, it did turn a touch smug.

Stan's gaze shifted to Eric, who was sitting beside me. I wasn't sure what he expected from Eric. Give him an explanation? Make me explain? Who knew. Eric was stone faced. An expression I learned to mean that nothing you said would make him talk.

"You have found yourself quiet an asset, Northman." He finally said. I bristled.

"I am an associate, not someone's asset."

Stan's gaze swung my way, disbelief in his eyes. My tone had turned cold and I felt a sliver of power in it. He must have heard it, or he was just amazed I would be talking back. Human chattel doesn't talk back. I met his eyes with a challenge in mine. There was no point in hiding, the last two hours proved that he was only playing a game, he was more than aware that I was not human.

"What are you, Ms Hellion?" he asked, for the second time in two nights. This time with a little more force, which made me realize that we weren't going to move on without an explanation. I didn't dare look at Eric, it would make me look weak. Beside me Eric was worried and smug. Smug?

"I believe we have established that my name is Alessandra Hellion, I am a telepath and I just saved the life of one of your nest brothers without bloodshed, or any action that involves you. I would think that would be enough." I said, my irritation coming through and the tension in the room skyrocketed.

Beside me, Eric sighed. He sighed.

"Just tell him, Lexie." His said in a soft voice.

My head snapped his way. He knew I didn't want many people knowing. What was him game?

He continued speaking to me, his eyes soft for the first time since we have entered Stan's building. "It'll come out eventually. You can't hide forever." We stared at each other for several moments. I knew he felt my defiance through the bond, while I was frantically thinking of any excuse to hold back, stubbornly wanting to hold on to the last threads of my anonymity. Eric looked back, all calm and assured. Damn him to the seven fires of Hell, he was right.

Squaring my shoulders, I took off my scent cloaking and let my power wash through me. I knew my hair looked darker, the colour of absolute black of infinity that was the night. My skin had a luminescent glow to it and without a doubt my eyes were blazing emeralds, power swirling in them making me look a lot less like the human I've been trying to play at being. I saw Stan's eyes widen, his second's mouth fell open. I looked very much other. Godric of course has seen me like this already. Eric and Pam took a chance to breathe in my scent, like two cats that smelt catnip theirs eyes dilating in pleasure.

I looked around the room before letting my gaze rest on Stan.

"I am Alessandra Hellion-Brigant, Princess Royal of the Underworld, Princess of the Royal House of Brigant, Ambassador of Underworld, and a whole host of lesser titles which I don't remember and truly aren't all that important." I said. I knew my tone held the undercurrents of power making my voice sound exotic and otherworldly. To humans it would be almost hypotonic, while vamps just found it damn sexy.

Vampires were almost as good as fairies and daemons at hiding their facial expressions, the older they were the better. I watched Stan and his second, their faces, bodies. Stan's face was unreadable, but then again I expected that. His body rigid, almost like he has gone into downtime, this was something that would make humans uncomfortable, but I just waited patiently for him to process the fact he had hired a royalty to do his dirty jobs. His second was much more entertaining, younger, maybe only a century or two in age, the emotions were plainly written on his face and body language. Shock. Confusion. Disbelieve. Some anger. Apprehension. The last one was probably due to him finally feeling the power levels coming off me and filling the room with uncomfortable electricity.

Stan was the first to recover.

"It appears I have had a bargain price for first class service," he said, voice back to neutral. The compliment took me back a little, making me realise he knew who I was, but then again it was the truth, he had a bargain, I used to charge much more. Face neutral myself, I nodded in acknowledgment. "How is your father, Princess? I haven't seen Hades in a long while."

Stan Davies knew my father; I took a moment to process this information. My mouse twitched and the well played move. "He is well, thank you. How do you know my father?" I just couldn't help myself really.

Stan smiled, eyes shifting from me to a look I recognised, he was remembering.

"I have visited the Underworld a long time ago. It was an eye-opening experience," he said, with a smile only I understood, none of the others having been there. I didn't really count Eric, he may have been to the court chambers and my suite, but that didn't count. The other vampires in the room turned their attention to Stan. Who under the disguise of his costume was one of the more powerful vampires in America. He also had powerful connections, not many have been allowed to our Court throughout the ages. "Northman you are very lucky to have such a prize living in your Area. Princess, anytime you get bored with the swamps of Louisiana you are more than welcome in Dallas. Give my regards to your father when you see him, Princess. Now, shall we celebrate the return of our nestmate?" And with that the meeting was finished.

I felt a little taken a back by such an anticlimactic ending, expecting more of a reaction from Stan. That didn't last too long.

Everyone wanted to meet the Princess. My change in status from a lowly human to Underworld royalty flew around the nest in seconds and as we mingled with the rest of the guests, I was bombarded by questions. Vampires are seen as cold, ruthless and generally reserved people. Many supernaturals seem that way to humans. I knew different. It was a mask they showed the world. The deadly politic arena of each race, as well as the need of a public face made it a necessity. In spite of not wanting my name to be well known in vampiric circles I was enjoying the knew found popularity, sliding into the limelight with a familiarity of putting on a favourite outfit. Eric stayed close at my side as we fielded questions, the answers to many would surely spread through the gossip grape wine to other states soon enough.

I finally caught a break later on in the night. Heading to bar, which I assumed was there for the humans, I was finally, blessedly alone for a few precious minutes. The bartender a young man, cute and in his early twenties, gave me a sexy smile. I doubt he has missed the fact that vampires seemed to have been gravitating to me all night. I smiled back. I tamped down my scent and power before we left our meeting, jokingly telling Stan that I didn't want his party turn into an orgy. I think the vampires were slightly disappointed.

"What can I get you gorgeous?" He asked, he had a lovely deep voice.

"A glass of red wine would be wonderful." I answered.

He gave me a flirty grin and said. "Coming right up."

While he was getting my drink ready, Pam slid in next to me on my right.

"Do you realise how hard it has been to catch you by yourself tonight? I am very disappointed that our shopping plans were ruined." She said quietly so only I could hear.

"I know, sorry Pam. Maybe we could do New York with Kassie after we get back?" I said, trying to appease her.

"I'm not sure how much time you are going to have once the news of your royal blood spreads." She huffed, "Gossip is the like blood to my kind."

Grabbing my wine and giving a thank you smile to the bartender I turned scanning the crowd. "I hope it won't be too bad. It's not like I am your royalty. I just wanted to have a relatively normal life for a while." The tone of those words were wistful, a passing fancy, when was anything normal in my life?.

"The queen is going to be notified now. We have no choice." Pam said, looking at me sideways to catch my reaction.

"I know." I said. "I'm going to have to visit New Orleans."

She chuckled.

"Oh. You are so going to enjoy that. Andre is just going to love you." Sarcastic and evil. Pam was a bitch.

"Andre is her child? I read up on the local supes before I moved. He sounded vicious." I said.

"He is. Sophie-Ann has a gift of binding her children to her closely with love. Very useful if you are in a position of power." Pam said.

I nodded in agreement.

_Lexie. Someone is outside the house. I feel danger._ Zionos said, making me jump, his voice urgent and a growl echoed through my mind. Pam opened her mouth to say something else, I shushed her with a finger to her lips. She raised her eyebrows but remained quiet. As I opened my shields I noticed Eric was making his way to us from the other side of the room, his mouth turned up in a smile, eyes glittering with amusement as he watched me shush Pam.

I opened up my shields. I heard muffled thoughts and strained to hear outside of the house. My face drained of blood and panic filled my eyes. Pam's eyes looked on concerned and Eric practically flew to my side. He didn't say anything, waiting for me to speak.

I heard the thought of hatred, fanatical. They were all around us. Getting closer as they circled the house… I looked at Eric's face pain filling mine.

Three..two…one…

"Hit the floor!" I yelled.

Every vampire obeyed.

So when the Fellowship opened fire, it was the humans that died.


	16. Chapter 16

**Another update, bet you didn't think that would happen so soon? :)**

**Thank you for the reviews guys! This story is my baby, so I love each and every single comment I get.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to TB or SVM, Lexie is all mine though.**

I didn't put my shield up fast enough.

The windows around us shattered with the first bullets, the roar of the guns from outside was deafening, I reached to my magic, quickly snapping a protection shield around the house.

The gunfire inside ceased, but the noise continued. My shields were bullet proof, not sound proof. Vampires roared in anger, halfway to bloodlust, their human dates screaming in fear and some in pain, as reality set in for them too. Fear of the gunfire or seeing their date turn from the suave dangerous companion into a bloodthirsty monster, it didn't matter the place saturated with the heady perfume of human sweat and trepidation; the perfect aphrodisiac for a vampire high on bloodlust. I had to think fast, or this was going to end very badly. I sprang to my feet so get a better view of everyone inside, Eric and Pam instantly at my sides crouching protectively, scanning for danger.

"Stan!" I screamed, as I looked around the room trying to locate him. He was the only one who could control the vamps right now without me resorting to using magic. I couldn't see him in the bodies splayed on the floor. Damn him to an eternity in Hell, where the fuck was he?

I noticed some of the vampires had realised that while the guns were still firing outside, none of the bullets have come in. They started to rise cautiously off the floor, I only had seconds until their common sense was thrown out of the window and animalistic instinct for revenge took over.

Where the hell was Stan?

I didn't want to bend his people into obedience, but I didn't want them running after the Fellowship, it wouldn't help.

"Stan!" I shouted again, my voice coming out a little bit more desperate than last time. "Eric, can you see him?"

"No," Eric growled. I glanced at him, he was crouching next to me, fangs out and ready to fight. The only thing holding him back were the centuries of hard won control over his natural instincts.

Fine, Stan was out of the picture, leaving me with little choice. I let my energy spread through the house, gripping all the vampires with my magic, sending calm throughs to them. I needed them thinking. I needed them to listen.

Pam and Eric came to stand up properly as my power washed away the remnants of their bloodlust.

"Everyone stay where you are, check the wounded. Do not run outside. The bullets won't hit while you are in the house. If you can see the humans outside, remember their faces. We will need to identify them later." I said my voice laced with power boomed through out the house, riding the currents of my magic. "Eric call the police, we need them here. Let them know we have wounded." It would have been better if we could keep the humans here until the police came, but I didn't place any trust into the vamps not ripping their throats out if I did that.

_Zi, I need you to go outside and read the number plates of their vehicles. It will make this easier_. I felt him slip off of my back. I knew he was gone within seconds. Zionos could be a shadow when he wanted; such was the power of an Ava'h.

Surprisingly enough my commands were obeyed. I don't know why it surprised me, not with the amount of power I was using. Only half of my blood was divine, but that half was powerful, and even the most powerful daemons trod carefully when I was fully charged like tonight. Eric was on the phone talking fast. I noticed vampires checking their humans. Good. Some cried vague obscenities at me and I heard protests, but I ignored them. My shields strong enough to keep them in as well as the bullets out, I knew nobody was going to go anywhere. I felt a few try to test my wards, they didn't make it.

Then, without warning, quiet reigned.

The fire outside ceased. Car engines roared to life, the tyres screeching as they made the humans made their escape.

"Pam. Is your memory good?" I asked quickly. I needed someone else to remember the number plates as well. She nodded, and I rattled off the plate numbers of six cars, along with their make and model. Zi was a stickler for details.

"Stan's hit." I heard a voice from the other side of the house. I sighed, could this night get any more complicated? Eric got off the phone quickly enough. We headed towards the back where I assumed we'd find Stan.

He was lying in a pool of his own blood. Someone fired low enough to hit his head, he'd heal but he wasn't in any condition to take charge right now.

_They are gone. Do you want me to stay out here or come back? _Zionos asked.

_Come back, there is no point for you to hang out there. I may need you help in here soon enough._ I answered back. Eric was arguing with Stan's second-in-command. Richard, which was his name as I found out, had been second-in-command for only one night. Isobel used to have that spot before her punishment for Hugo's indiscretion. Hugo was her human after all. I'd have thought Stan would pick Godric, but with all that had happened, I understood why he didn't. Godric had issues. He may or may not be suicidal, after all, we still weren't sure why he decided to leave with his brother and surrender to the Fellowship.

Hugo was currently in a cell downstairs somewhere, not the same one as Isobel. I talked Stan into modifying his memories slightly, so he could use him against the fellowship in court if needed. Hugo was about to become very useful.

As I walked closer to where Stan lay, I heard Richard arguing with Eric.

"She took over the nest. She had no right to do that! She's not even a vampire," Richard hissed at Eric.

"The Princess may not be a vampire, but she has saved most of your nest's pets as well as minimized the damages to your property," Eric said, calmly, surprising me with his defence of my actions. Vampires are territorial. Relief hit me, washing through me like water, I wasn't going to do this alone, Eric was on my side. He understood what I had done, knowing Eric he already deduced why. "She has saved your ungrateful arse twice in the last twenty four hours. You should be singing her praises on your knees, not insulting, you incompetent idiot. With her actions tonight, she might have finally guaranteed the downfall of FotS in Dallas," he pointed out, his voice coming down to no more than a hiss by the end of his speech. Ok, Eric was still high on bloodlust, and pissed. I hoped, not quiet trusting his gallant defence, that he wasn't too pissed with me.

"Richard, both Pam and I know the details of all the cars they had used. We know their faces. I will be able to recognise them all by searching their brains. We need to move Stan into a secure room before the police get here. Get him blood too. And organise the rest of the wounded to be treated. Someone also needs to take control here so the vampires don't decide to take things out on the police. Snap out of your little hissy fit and do you God damn job!" I told him. My own temper high, I wasn't sure who I'd been pissed at more; the humans who whose days were probably numbered after tonight or the vampires who were pacing along my perimeter like caged lions. Then there was Richard and his incompetence. Why Stan picked him was beyond me. Maybe he had never seen him in a crisis? Who knew? Either way it wasn't Stan's best decision. I doubted Stan could have anticipated being incapacitated enough to leave Richard in control like this.

"I do not have to follow your orders, bitch," Richard hissed at me.

Eric made a low growl, and Pam snarled. I felt Zionos at my back and he was pissed at the insult. I made a gesture with my hand for them to hold off and stalked towards Richard, my temper running high enough to cause my own killing instincts to rise. I am not human. Fairy, sure half of me was, and they are a bloody people. Goddess, definitely, and the divine are even more bloodthirsty; some even crave blood like vampires do. I stalked like a wild cat and as I came at him, I noticed Richard finally snapping out of his blood haze state, caution finally winning over. He had at last realised he pissed off someone who he really, really shouldn't. Too little too late, he had awakened my beast.

"I may not be a vampire, Richard," My voice was low, lethal, just barely controlling my temper. I saw him shudder as my power caressed him. His eyes glazed over. I felt like a deadly predator lulling his prey into a false sense of security prior to striking that last lethal blow. "But I am not a human. I am a goddess. You think you have power? Think again. I can control you like a marionette on strings and you will dance to my tune. Now do what I have asked you, before I deem you a waste of space."

When I let him go he didn't move. Fear. I was close enough to smell it. It tasted sweet on my tongue, like a delicate flavoured candy. Deliciously tantalising all my senses, and at the moment everything in me was screaming to kill this idiot. If someone told me six months ago I would be in a building warded against bullets, with more vampires than Hydra's heads and commandeering the entire affair because the vampire sheriff managed to get shot, I would have laughed till my sides were sore. I spent almost six years keeping a low profile and giving trouble a wide breath. Stupid of me to think things could have turned out otherwise. I was up to my neck deep in trouble, and close to unleashing disaster if I couldn't control my temper.

Eric came up beside me. I felt his hand touch my shoulder. A shudder racked me as I tried to control my instincts. This much power riding me into a place where I didn't want to go. Somewhere that called to me, always. I've seen divine rage, it left nothing in its wake, and ironic that I should find out now that that was something I'd inherited from my father after all.

"No, don't, please," I said, bitting out each word. Taking a breath to calm myself, his hand fell back to his side. "I need to calm down; otherwise I will probably level Dallas in smithereens." I breathed in and closed my eyes, fighting my way away from the abyss inch by torturous inch. I didn't want to leave.

Richard moved after that. Everyone listened, even the most dim witted vampire had felt how close they were to being dead, finally dead. Stan was moved into a secure room downstairs and a guard was posted at the door. There were five injured humans; the cute bartender was not among those. We walked through the house, Pam and Eric at each of my sides. Zionos behind me, which might have been another reason why everyone decided to be polite, I had an ava'h. Even vampires knew what that meant, and if they were too young to know it, others quickly made them understand. I was god touched. They already knew I was royalty from Underworld, but that had just been a myth to most. Now, after my impressive display of power, it had become a reality for them.

When I heard the sirens drawing closer I dropped the shields around the house. It was showtime. The vampires had agreed to my plan, and those that had doubts kept didn't voice them. Vampires are very good at controlling their expressions, after years of relying on that skill to find sustenance, they are consummate actors and we all played our parts well that evening.

The police, although still wary of the undead, had no choice but to be on their side. The press came quickly on their heels was out for blood, for once, it wasn't vampire blood, but human. They wanted the Fellowship. I had no doubt that by the time they were done, the Fellowship would be finished. Sometime during all the questions and proceedings, Stan came back. His head looked better and he changed into clean clothes; he was much better at handling the spotlight than Richard. Someone must have brought him up to spped, as he was all charm and rightful indignation. The geeky clothes helping him look less threatening and all the more endearing while he gave a very convincing speech about how harmless the Dallas nest was, and how much they had done for the community here with all the donations. Blah, blah, blah…

"You are so much trouble, Lexie, dear." Pam's voice took my attention off Stan's riveting performance. I looked over at her, she was her usual bored self, but her eyes sparkled with amusement as she watched the circus show in front of us.

"This wasn't exactly my fault, Pam," I said sulkily. "It's not like I waved a red flag at the Fellowship. I just rescued a guy." Even though I knew she was joking I suppressed the urge to stamp my foot, temper tantrum would only cause unneeded attention, besides I was over a hundred years old.

"My dear, you are a walking trouble magnet. That is always fun, I enjoy it," Pam said, disregarding my obvious mood. "I just wish you didn't stop us from retaliating…I have missed hunting." The earning in the last words made me remember that Pam, who looked like she has just stepped off a red carpet premier despite what we'd been through tonight, was a killer and hunter. Cuddly, but deadly; my type of friend.

_She's not the only one who missed hunting_. Zionos commented, he must have been cleaning himself, I was feeling extremely itchy on my back. Zi had silently disappeared back to his usual resting place when we heard the sirens. There wasn't any good way of explaining a large wild feline in a residential property full of vampires.

"Both of you shush! It's wouldn't have been very satisfying chasing those idiots anyway," I told them. Pam raised her eyebrow, but she knew I was talking to Zi as well. "Zi, we're going to hunt in two weeks. Pam, you're welcome to join us, I think you will enjoy it." I waggled my eyebrows at her.

She looked interested, or as interested as Pam can look, which isn't saying much.

"If my boss lets me have the time off," she finally said. I knew she wouldn't agree unless she knew who and where we were hunting; she learns quickly that one. With me…you never knew.

Speaking of her maker, Eric was walking to us having finished giving his statement to the police. If you have never seen vampires give statements, it's an interesting and hilarious process. Hilarious for me, the cop who Eric had been speaking to looked red and reeked of fear I could smell standing on the other side of the room. Seeing as everyone was trying to be the friendly neighbourhood vamp, it was going better than I'd hoped.

"What time is it?" I asked him. Both Pam and I didn't have watches; they didn't really match our dresses. I had a promise to keep at dawn. I told Eric and Stan about Godfrey and his decision to meet the sun, regardless of the ceremony at the Fellowship. Both had looked impressed and asked me for details afterwards. I wasn't sure I'd be able to give them much, but I agreed to tell them, some of it.

"You have another half hour," Eric said, which meant I still had time to go back to our room, shower and change into something more appropriate than this dress before my appointment. My dress was still in relatively good condition considering, but it was getting chilly. Underworld will be even colder, and that's where we would be heading provided Godfrey didn't back out in the last minute.

"I need to head off, change out of this dress," I said, waving at myself. "I might need to go past dad's court before I come back, we'll see. You two will be okay, right?"

Pam's mouth twitched with the beginnings of a smile, Eric just laughed scaring a few humans with such un-vampire emotion.

"What?" I asked, irritated, and then realised what I said. If I could blush like a human I would have, my cheeks turned slightly rosy but not the full out right red that a human's would have, for which blessing I was eternally grateful. They noticed, of course they would. Pam's mouth stretched into a genuine smile this time.

"Lexie, you are delicious when you blush. Run along, dear, we shall see you tomorrow night," she said, putting on her best English accent.

Eric growled at her, but Pam was already walking off towards the unsuspecting police officer for her turn to give a statement, the same one who interviewed Eric. Oh boy!

Strong arms snaked around me, and a melted into Eric's chest glad that he was here. Warmth spread through me at his caring touch, and yet I wasn't sure why he did hug me. Sensing my confusion, he leaned down inhaling my hair.

"Lexie, I may not know how I feel about what happened the other night. Something that we will talk about at a later date," he said, lips against my temple, the soft cool air brushing my skin after each word. "I do know that I want you near. You are fascinating. I haven't been interested in someone in a very long time. I look forward to exploring you, nightly if I can manage it and with great attention to details." The double meaning in his words didn't escape mine or my body's attention.

I felt a slow burn of desire spread through me, my breathing hitched and I struggled to show no outward reaction to his words. I looked up to see his eyes full of heat. The artic blue normally cool, was burning like a cool flame. I brushed one hand on his cheek and he leaned into it, like a cat enjoying the brief contact. My heart grew a little warmer, he was honest. Honesty counted in my world. I knew its value, growing up in a court based on lies made me that much more cautious, value simple things like this that much more.

Smiling gently, I let him know with my eyes that I wanted this as much as he.

"I can't wait," I told him, and stretched up to meet his lips. I meant it to be a short, chaste kiss, but Eric, of course, had other ideas. I was breathing hard when we pulled apart; some of the vampires were staring our way, fangs out, to show appreciation of my changing scent. The human cops that noticed looked distinctly uncomfortable with the whole episode. I didn't really care.

"Eric, that wasn't very helpful." I admonished him, but I knew my heart wasn't in it. I had an appreciative smile of my own. "Walk me around the back?"

He offered me his arm in a grand gesture, and we went to find a place without any prying eyes so I could get on with my night.

My shower was only mildly refreshing. Giving the bed a longing glance as I came out of the bathroom, it looked soft and comfortable made up with fresh sheets. Memories of my time with Eric this evening flooded my mind, almost making my shower redundant. I didn't want to smell aroused when at my next meeting. Resigned to another couple of hours of not so pleasant activity I pushed all thoughts of naked time with the Viking aside.

_You would need a few weeks, darling, and I would prefer not to be sitting on you while you explore all those nasties you were thinking just now. _Zi said.

"Embarrassed?" I asked.

_No. Horny._ He shot back.I felt guilt crawl up, washing away the pleasantness of my memories.

_Lexie, stop it. It's not your fault. I am here for you, not to play around._ He went on quickly, sounding concerned. _A good hunt with Artemis will help my edginess. I'm just tired of all the damn rabbits, I'm happy for you. Truly._ Chances of Zi finding a mate were slim to none without me adding another ava'h. Most gods could add them and I was the last person any of them would consider thanks to Persephone. Hades' had to pull a huge favour for me to get Zionos as is. Still, Zi's nonchalance on the matter made my heart squeeze painfully.

"Thanks Zi," I said. "Shall we go?"

_It is as good a time as any to do this I suppose. _His voice sounded dry.

I took a quick look in the mirror. My hair was still wet. I tied in a bun at the nape of my neck. I put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a skull and the 'Love Kills Slowly' on the front. Yes, I had a perverted sense of humour. Slipping into a pair of black flats, I grabbed my red leather jacket. It may get cool later. I popped to Godfrey just as I heard the door open to our room.

I found him in a park. The sky was getting lighter but it only added to the eeriness and quiet here. Godfrey was sitting on a bench overlooking the small lake. I sat down next to him, quietly waiting, enjoying the serenity of the early hour.

"You came," he said, finally breaking into the silence with his quiet voice.

"Yes."

"I didn't think you would," he told me honestly.

I looked away from the lake and studied his face. Centuries of living didn't touch his skin. He still looked as youthful as the night he was made. Only his eyes betrayed the ancient vampire. Eyes that were at odds with his youthful looks, they carried the pain of centuries of suffering.

"I told you I would. I keep my word," I said.

He turned to look at me, studying my face as well. I sat there quietly, not looking away.

"What would you do if I said I didn't want to go through with it?" He asked.

I didn't answer, but whatever he saw in my face was answer enough. He looked back towards the water.

"I offer you a choice," I said quietly. "Do you want absolution?"

I made up my mind about this earlier. I couldn't read vampire minds, but I didn't need to in order to see the suffering he carried in him for the crimes he unwillingly committed.

"I deserve none."

"Yet I am offering it anyway."

"Why?"

"Because whether you think you deserve it or not, I believe that you do," I told him honestly.

"If I don't take it, what will happen to me?" Godfrey asked.

"You will be taken to hell; your punishment will probably be severe,"

He didn't reply.

"Godfrey, I may not know what you have done. I cannot without seeing your soul after you have died," I said. "What I know is that you have suffered for every sin you have committed. Every death you have caused has left a scar on your heart. I have never offered this to anyone before. It is a rare thing."

I let him think it over; he had a choice to make. I couldn't force this on him. He had to be willing. Instead I contemplated what would happen should I have to go through this again. Godric was still alive. I hadn't seen much of him tonight. Though I had a feeling he was the one that almost caught me at the hotel. I didn't want to wait for him, I knew he would want to be here, but it was not something he could witness. This was a private thing. I'd talk to him later. He had a decision to make as well.

"I do not deserve your kindness," he said.

"You do. Tell me you wouldn't have interfered when Gabe wanted to rape me," I said.

"I would have. I didn't think it was right, he was supposed to be a man of god."

I snorted. "If he is a man of god, then I am a demon."

He looked at me surprised, questions in his eyes.

"I'm not," I reassured him. "There aren't any demons, and as far as I am concerned no God either. Well, no one true God, the one that many humans tend to worship. There are other forces of creation but that is not what we are talking about."

"What does it matter if I wanted to help you, after so many crimes, it shouldn't matter," he said.

I was shocked.

"It matters Godfrey," I told him fiercely, somehow finding myself defending his actions to himself. "You would be already dead if it weren't for your actions."

"Ahh."

I stood up and put my hand out to him.

"Let's go. We haven't much time and your swim will not be a pleasant one," I said, I knew he made the decision to come with me, he didn't need to verbalise it.

Looking at my hand for along moment before taking it he smiled.

"A swim?"

My lips twitched. "Oh yes."

We faded into the night making our way to the shores of Yalini.

The lake was just as peaceful and beautiful as I remembered it. I had loved coming here as a little girl, the serenity of its waters always soothed me. It was the only lake in Underworld where all five rivers flowed, mixing their waters and powers into one. It had the power to cleanse ones soul, if they were brave enough to dunk three times under the water. I have never done it, but I have seen others. The process wasn't pleasant, but the peacefulness achieved after was well worth it for the souls in question. Maybe after another couple of centuries I may need to cleanse, but not yet.

Godfrey looked around in interest as we made our way to the edge of the water. The lake was unnaturally motionless, not a single ripple of water marred the cool grey surface. Even the edges were quiet, static. A true picture of serenity, such was the magic of Underworld.

"What is this place?" Godrey asked not hiding the wonder from his voice.

"This is Yalini, your ticket out of Hell," I said, making a gesture towards the lake.

He looked at me confusion in his eyes. "I do not understand how a lake can help me."

I smiled. "The Christians got their rituals from somewhere. You will strip, and go dunk yourself three times. Trust me."

He did, without hesitation taking his hand out of mine he began to strip. Naked he started wading into the water. I knew it was colder than ice and burned hotter than fire. He did not falter, stop or make a sound during his progress. He stopped when the water hit his waist. Paused. Almost as though he had to take a breath, and then smoothly disappeared under the crystal surface.

The first time he had stayed under for almost a minute, coming up with a gasp and sending waves through the surrounding calmness. The swirling waters of Phelgethon, fire, and Styx, hate, stripped his masks away; they were making him remember with vivid details each of his crimes in an endless loop.

The ripples that he cause slowed went on for longer than was natural, the magic of the water taking working its magic on Godfrey.

The second dunk was longer, he didn't surface for close to five minutes. I would have started to worry, but I knew he didn't need air. He came up slowly this time and without seeing I knew there would be tears on his face. My face was wet as well. Acheron, the river of sorrow, and Cocytus, lamentation, stripping away his pain and regret.

Slipping under the water slowly the third and final time, it took him so long that I worried we would miss the sunrise. Finally he came back up. Lethe, forgetfulness, burned through him taking his memories with her waters.

When Godfrey turned around, I saw that I knew has not been there for more than two thousand years: wonder and innocence graced his features, making him look as young and innocent as he should have before being turned.

I knew the water held no pain for him now, and as he made his way back to me he had a joyful smile on his face. He made his way towards me, not caring about his nakedness, the chill in the air, or the fact that he was still dripping water on the soft grass on the lakeshore.

After he dressed he came back to stand next to me. We stood there silent for a minute looking at Yalini, appreciating the magic of this wonderful place. I felt a cold hand grab mine; he squeezed my fingers gently, and held on.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

I squeezed his hand right back in answer.

We faded back to the park in Dallas, the sky already pinkish with the rising sun.

I felt a new flood of tears on my face. I let them fall, not ashamed of crying for this man, no, this boy. He had done a lot of evil things during his life, I knew that, yet he had good in him too. There is no such thing as pure evil; there are only lessons learned and choices made. I knew that better than most. That was the difference between Gabe and Godfrey. The reason one was now in hell and the other would be resting peacefully before the next sunset hid the sun again.

I did not grieve for him. I rejoiced.

As he stepped away from me, cautious that he didn't accidentally burn me with the rising sun, he glanced at my face.

"That's nice," he said with awe making his features look even more youthful than before. "Someone to cry for me at the end, I had hardly expected that."

And then the sun rose.

I watched through my tears as the vampire Godfrey burned. He his existence had been torture, but he survived it and he had learned precious lessons.

I felt the brush of wings, soft feathers against my cheeks. The little sprites who came to take his soul touching my tears in reverence. A Goddess present at the death of a vampire, crying for him, they did not see this often, if ever.

"Take care of him, please. He has deserves his rest," I whispered.

I knew they would. Godfrey was bound for Elysian Fields for some much needed respite.

It took me a while longer before I returned to the hotel. I had stayed back to watch the sunrise, taking the opportunity to be alone, and sift through all that had happened to me in the past. Not just recently, but further back. After watching another being die like that, it made you think about your own existence.

Eric was dead to the world when I crawled into bed, snuggling next to him. His cool body was like a blanket soothing my raw nerves. With everything that has happened, I felt drained. I closed my eyes and let oblivion take over in the safety of my vampire lover.

Later, I would curse myself for not paying closer attention. I should have gone to check in with Nergal. Did a security sweep of our suite. Had done something. Anything.

I didn't. Fool. Thinking I was safe, those around me safe and wouldn't be in any danger from associating so closely with me.

Fool.


	17. Chapter 17

_This chapter is un-beta'ed and all mistakes are my own. _

_Lexie and Underworld are all mine, the Viking, alas, is not. _

_xxx_

* * *

I was frozen.

The horror of the scene in front of me had my body locked in shock. My mind struggled to process everything at once. There blood, it was everywhere. Dark rich colour marring the perfect white of hotel sheets. Spray splatters over the beige lamp shades. The walls around them covered in the same. And worse of all was the realisation that I'd slept through it all.

And in the middle of the mess, the tangled sheets, the blood, the carnage was a single obsidian rose. A message for me.

A tear streaked down my face.

Pam.

Her bed. Her blood. My fault.

I knew it was her blood, it smelled too much of Eric; the scent not quiet as strong as his, but unmistakable in its uniqueness. The haze of shock would not recede as I noted distractedly that one of the lamps had gotten knocked over, now lying haphazardly on the floor. It too was smeared in blood.

The dress Pam had worn last night lay in a puddle on the floor. Her shoes were next to it. No struggle, she was dead when they took her. Dead when they'd cut her up to leave me the message. The blood, darker than humans, still wet, it was still fresh. It would have had to have happened while I was here, while I was sleeping in the room across the living space we shared.

"No," I whimpered as my body started to regain its functions. I slid down to my knees, too weak from shock. My back shook with silent sobs, fear, regret and loss made me blind with tears. "Not her."

Zionos came off me with an angry growl; a sound somewhere between fury, and anguish. He had gotten used to Pam, he actually liked her. It was a good think vampire were dead right now, his growl could wake up anyone who wasn't dead.

Why did I not consider this? How could I have let him blindside me like this?

Of course, I knew exactly how. I had been too busy playing with the vampires. I let their problems distract me from my own hunt. And Zagan used my weakness. He took the only person who I had not thought to protect.

Zagan, my ex-lover. Ex-fiancé.

This was his handy-work. I could smell his scent in the air, along with Pam's, and a number of unfamiliar ones. There was no way I could possibly mistake that sweet sensual bouquet for anyone…anything else. It had been one of the many things that kept me from seeing past his masks, for making me blind.

The black flower among the crimson stained sheets an unmistakable reminded of everything we'd shared in the past. A taunt at how well he knew me. A clear message to where I will find him. The obsidian rose my favourite flower. It grew in only one place. Underworld.

After weeks of searching and coming up with nothing, I had gotten complacent. Of course, he would notice me going away with Pam. Of course! I had known, should have expected that he'd been following my movements for a while.

A thought popped into my shell-shocked mind. Why not Eric? I was sure I had spent more time with him. We did not hide our relationship, whatever it was, from the world. Hell, he was present at my Calling in court. I wasn't stupid enough to think that Zagan didn't have spies there as well; the fact that I had called my Akashai to me would have reached his ears.

Yet, Eric had been sleeping next to me. That was what had tipped the scales, so Pam was now suffering for my mistakes.

I couldn't bring myself to get up. I couldn't look away from my friend's bed, covered in her blood. The message left behind for me, taunting me, luring me into coming to his playground.

I'm not sure how long I stayed there. Staring, unable to bring myself to move, Zionos sitting next to me, it must have been a while. I didn't hear Eric until he burst into the room, an inhuman growl tearing from his lips when he saw the scene in front of him.

"Pam!" He shouted. Suddenly, my back slammed into the wall, large hands chocking me as they held me just above the floor. "Where is she? What have you done?"

I didn't fight him. It was my fault she was gone. His child. Zionos growled behind him, a warning Eric completely ignored. "Where is Pam?" He hissed at me again. He looked more like an animal than I'd ever seen him look. Did he know it was me he was chocking? I stared at the floor, unsure if I wanted to see the anger on his face. Unsure if I'd find disappointment, or worse, hatred there. Unsure if I didn't deserve the pain, and the treatment. I let him squeeze my throat, the ache induced by his hand tightening around my flesh a welcome sensation in my numb body.

There was a crunching sound, the tearing of skin and Eric let go of me before spinning to confront his attacker. I fell on the floor in a heap, my legs for once completely useless in holding me up. Zionos must have bitten him to get his attention away from me.

Air rushed into my lungs making me cough. My chest burned and though I was immortal, and could hold my breath for a long time, I functioned more efficiently while breathing. My neck was sore; it'll heal soon enough. My fingers touched to tender flesh while I tried to focus on the present.

The two of them were ready to do battle, not caring that they'd destroy this hotel room in seconds. "Stop," I whispered my voice hoarse and soft as my throat healed. They both ignored me.

"Stop!" I said, louder this time, despite the extra pain and damage that action caused. It had to be worth it, I didn't want them to fight each other. "Eric, enough. Please. We didn't do this."

Eric crouched in front of Zionos, snarling at the big cat and ready to attack. I thought he didn't hear me. Too lost in bloodlust, grief and pain. A look of pure anguish crossed his face when he looked back at me.

"She's gone. I can't feel her," He whispered, defeated. The fight went out of him, and he stepped back. I'd never seen him so utterly lost, all of the usual arrogance gone. The look on his face was death, his eyes were empty. Our bond, dead. It hurt me more than his physical attack to see him like this.

Getting myself off the floor slowly, still a little shaky from his rough handling I took a step towards him. I wanted to hug him, to comfort him in someway, but there was nothing I could do, nothing to help him with this pain. And the guilt of being responsible for his current pain, for Pam, made me shy away from even trying.

The time it took for my body to heal my mind spent going over things that had happened. As the initial shock wore off, and my mind was starting to analyse reality with the usual practicality that I'd seen reflected in Eric's manner when he functioned under normal circumstances.

Pam may be gone.

She was surely injured, hard to escape that conclusion with all the blood here.

I doubted she was dead. Zagan enjoyed playing with his victims. I shuddered remembering the last girl we found, although calling what had been left behind a girl had been a stretch of imagination. A Were woman he had kidnapped from Canada and we'd tracked her to a rural building just outside the Palace walls in Underworld. It had taken hours for the clean up crew to find all the pieces.

"She's in Underworld," I told him quietly. Watching fire light up his eyes again gave me hope that the normal Eric was coming back, the rational one, the pragmatic one. The Eric I was beginning to fall for more than a Royal Princess with a homicidal ex-fiancé should.

"You know who took her?" His voice was deadly, I didn't doubt he would rip me apart, no matter his infatuation, or our bond, if he thought I had something to do with this. His love for Pam may have turned platonic over the centuries they'd spent together, but it was still a powerful thing. The instinct to protect her, his child, was something ingrained in his very essence. Not all vampires are like that. Most would not care, but some, those precious few, would do anything for the child. Eric was one such vampire and Pam was very, very lucky to have him as her maker.

"Yes." My voice was dull. I hugged myself, wrapping my arms around my stomach protectively, trying to find comfort where there wasn't any. "The daemon I've been hunting, Zagan, he is behind this. Pam...is the bait to lure me into the open. He's using her to get to me."

Some of the rage left Eric's face, replaced with something darker and I shivered at the look willing myself to concentrate on the discussion. That side of Eric was surely new to me, but the allure of it…my heart raced, blood heating and for all the wrong reasons in our current situation.

_He may be able to feel her in Underworld. It would give us a starting point in the search. I do not think Zagan realised that when he took her._ Zionos said in my mind.

He was still crouching and keeping a weary eye on the vampire, ready to attack at any moment should Eric turn on me again. His tail twitching violently behind him was the only show of agitation. It would not be pleasant for Zi to harm Eric, he'd grown fond of the vampire despite his constants stream of complaints. He'd do it anyway. Nothing and no one stood between an ava'h and his charge. No affection could rise higher for them, no life was more precious. In the end their need to protect was their existence, take away that and they'd disappear.

Adrenaline rushed through me, hope was the only thing I had right now. I swallowed, testing out my throat; the pain had gone, though a small amount of discomfort remained behind. More of an after shock, the body thinking that it should still be sore after the injuries inflicted upon it.

"Lure you where?" Eric asked.

"Underworld. The bastard wants me running around the whole damn realm looking for him." I spat the words out, hating my loss of composure over this, hating that I let Zagan do this to me, that I had given him the power so long ago.

The storm that had been gathering, unnoticed earlier due to my shock, was now in full swing. Rage. I welcomed her with open arms. It seeped into my every cell, vibrating through me, making me yearn for blood. Like the vampire in front of me, I craved for the blood of my enemy. Bloodlust, I have heard of it, seen it in others, felt a small slither of it vicariously, but until this night I have not felt it myself.

My body started to tremble. I was sure that my eyes were starting to change. This wasn't helping, but I let myself enjoy the feeling momentarily, memorising it so I could call on it later, when I was ready, when he was at my mercy.

I realised I was still wrapped up in a towel, my hair a mess, having half dried while I was in my stupor. How long did I sit here? I wasted so much time.

Rising I shook my head, focusing on my ava'h. "Zi, how fresh is the scent of the intruder?" I asked, tugging the towel closer around me. How it didn't fly off me when Eric was throwing me around like a rag doll, I didn't know.

_Four to five hours old, they haven't had her long_. Zi said with a confidence only he could have.

Four hours, is plenty to do serious damage, even to a vampire. My mind shied away from that thought. I will get her back. She is ok. She has to be.

I looked at Eric needing to voice that promise to another. "I'll get her back. I promise." My voice sounded brittle.

Eric didn't acknowledge my words. He wouldn't even look my way, staring the whole time I've spoken at the bloody bed that dominated the room with his own demons flying through his head.

It was the harshest blow he could have dealt me, and yet there a small part of me understood. Forcing myself to walk away from him, not knowing what else I could do for him.

A quick shower, to wash of the scent of blood off me, gave me time to plan, as well as helped me calm down and focus.

Jeans and a tank, made me feel somewhat more prepared for what lay ahead. It is hard to be productive in planning a rescue mission when you're almost naked. Putting my hair in a bun was my only option, drying it would waste time we didn't have.

When I walked back into Pam's room he was still standing where I had left him. We had no time to waist. "We need to check out and take the bags to my house before we go to Underworld. Eric, can you check us out, seeing as you're the one who was going to pay for the room. I'll pack," I told him, careful not to startle him too much. I didn't move my eyes of Eric when I spoke to Zionos next. He had stayed just outside the door to make sure Eric didn't do anything stupid. Like decide to attack me again. "Zi, I need you to go to Nergal, appraise him on the situation and make sure they don't move until I get there. I'll call the Akashai when I get to the palace."

_You want me to leave you with him, after he almost strangled you?_ Zi asked incredulous. He didn't need to remind me of the other threat. The threat whose aftermath was all over the hotel room we were standing in.

_He didn't and he wouldn't. He cannot kill me. _Emphasising the last bit, I was pissed off for completely new reasons now. Not that it had taken much to ignite my temper on a new topic.

Eric was angry, but I didn't think it was all directed my way. I hoped not. As for Zagan, I could hold that off if need be, long enough to call for help. I had the Akashai to call now. Zagan has hurt me enough. There was nothing in me left for him to destroy and so he decided to go for the only weak spot he knew would kill me. My friends. _We need to move, quickly. Now go._

Zionos growled at me, his way of telling me I was being stupid, but he still obeyed. I felt unease as soon as he left. A part of me was always missing when he wasn't by my side. Was that how Eric was feeling? Like a piece of him died when his bond to Pam was severed? Or did their bond run deeper? I wasn't sure, but either way I wouldn't want to experience the uncertainty he was feeling now.

Eric was already half dressed by the time I had finished arguing with Zionos. He had come charging into Pam's room earlier butt naked. The sight would have been dangerously seductive—he was glorious naked—it hadn't registered. I'd been too caught up with everything else to notice; though I was sure I'd revisit those memories when things settled down.

When he left to take care of the room, I chucked all the loose clothes into bags and with a flick of my wrist sent them to my house. My power ran through me, a drug, calling to me. There was a strong possibility I might go insane one day if I used too much too often, or simply started to crave it. I'd never set eyes on the ones that had, I'd heard them though. Everyone in Hell could. The possibility of me ending up like them was terrifying.

_Nergal needs a little bit of time to prepare. He is putting a team for you as we speak._ Zi informed me as he popped back into the room. If I already wasn't aware, his tone was a good indicator at how much disgust he felt for acting the errand boy. Too bad for him, I didn't give a shit right now.

"Good. We'll leave just as soon as Eric gets back. Come," I told him calmly. My body hummed with power, it wrapped around me like a cacoon.

When Eric walked back into our suite Godric was with him. The smaller vampire nodded to me in greeting.

I couldn't quiet keep my surprise off my face. "You're coming with us?"

Godric's face didn't give anything away. "Yes."

He didn't give me more of an explanation and as Eric looked impatient, I didn't ask for more.

We made it to my apartment at the palace in record time. I took two swords off the wall, the Palace already ahead of my needs had provided me with the perfect weapons for the Viking warrior and his maker. Eric was understandably not happy with having to use one of my weapons. He had his own collection, but after I explained that his swords wouldn't do as much damage, if any, against the creatures we'd be dealing with he grudgingly accepted. It was a lovely sword. Not very ornate, but lethal in its clean lines; the gleaming blade covered in glyphs, magically enhanced to kill, anything. All weapons the palace provided of its own free will were unique, even the ones that didn't look like much were priceless.

"Why not take us straight to this Nergal?" Eric asked as we made our way down the corridors. Eric was taking everything in with distracted interest.

"The whole palace is enchanted, but the area where Nergal is extremely secure. Almost as secure as dad's quarters," I explained. "Although I can get without issues, I could not bring you with me safely. No one is allowed to teleport in the palace at all, with a few notable exceptions that is. I'm not sure what would happen, but I doubt the result would be pleasant for you."

Godric only paid half mind to our exchange as he wondered around the room examining everything with the curiosity of a child.

"And you are one of those, exceptions," Eric said, more as a statement than a question.

"Yes. I am the princess," I replied quietly.

I put out a magic call to my Akashai, it was not an urgent call, since there was no reason to have them worried. For all I knew they'd come trying to attack Eric. The warriors had been trained to be part of my life as much as I had been trained to lead them. They were my personal guard, and will end up my confidants at some point in the future; we had a long time to get to know each other. After the ceremony the other night they were loyal only to me, having soulsworn their betrayal would be instant death. Impossible really, since their minds had been altered by the magic I had raised. I had balked at doing the ceremony exactly for that reason.

"The Akashai will meet us soon. They will be coming along, as well as some others that Nergal would have rounded up by now," I said to no one in particular since my eyes were still closed.

When I did open them I glanced sideways at Eric, he nodded. I started for the door, expecting him to follow. Then I saw his face in the mirror as he stopped walking mid step. A look of such pain, agony came over his features it was as though someone was torturing him. Phantom pain. I reached out to him but he batted my hand away.

"She is in pain, but I feel her again." He sounded both relieved and furious.

"Where? Which way is she?" Godric asked.

Hope made my heart thunder, but when he pointed my body shuddered. My stomach turned, and I was glad I hadn't had a chance to eat today. There was no way to mistake the direction. No way to confuse what he was pointing at. No! she couldn't be there. Oh, Gods! Pam.

"Are you sure, Eric?" I asked. There was a catch in my voice I hoped he wouldn't notice.

He gave me a scathing look. Why would he be wrong?

I looked at him for a moment and then scanned Godric's face. Both looked back at me with the same expression of determination. "Come."

We started walking again and this time Eric was watching me closely. Normally his scrutiny would have been welcomed and I dare say sought for, but not this kind. This wasn't the sexually charged looks I enjoyed. His eyes were too cold for that, his emotions too dead.

"What aren't you saying, Alessandra?" He asked after a few minutes. We had made our way out of the private residential quarters and into more public areas that looked like a mix of medieval and modern architecture. Large windows on one side of the hall let the moonlight. Outside glimpses of sparkling silver roof tops and shadows where the sliver light couldn't reach. The hall way was gently lit by torches that looked old but actually weren't, burning much brighter than a normal flame would. On the wall were vivid tapestries depicting scenes from human mythology, our history. Though the Palace was sentient, changing its look to suit its fancy or my father's moods, sometimes even my own, some things remained the same. They would move from room to room, corridor to corridor but they would not disappear. The tapestries were one of those, the used to hang in the hall leading to the main reception room. I speculated what had caused them to be here, in our path tonight.

Eric's question kept me silent, there was no way I could answer it without hurting him more. "Your child is currently in Hell" sounded rather crass. And yet it was the truth.

That it was the last place I would have thought to look for Zagan is a certainty. It would mean we had not on but a few traitors in our midst. Something that scared me all the more; a traitor was currently holding the keys to Hell. The only line of defence between true evil and the rest of the world sabotaged. Not even the familiar security of my own magic could dampen the unease I felt.

"Alessandra." Eric grounded out my name.

I stopped, abruptly turning to him, knowing the unspoken question that had been asked.

"She is in Hell, Eric. One place we didn't think to look for him. Hell!" The irony of the situation didn't escape me; he broke out of hell, to go back in there to hide.

Eric paled, looking whiter than I had ever seen a vampire look.

"Hell." He sounded shocked at my revelation; of course, he may be picturing his hell a little differently to what I knew it was. I sighed away the frustration, keeping my own feeling bottled up to subdue some of his fears; though to be fair they were more than justified.

"They don't have eternal fires. It's a myth we have encouraged, hell is a prison of a sort, but of the mind. Though the actual territory is a prison too, just not a cave with a fire pit you've grown familiar with through mythology," I tried explaining the best I could, without voicing any of my suspicions out loud. The court has many ears, and most weren't friendly ones.

We stopped at a dead end, or what seemed to most like one. The wall was solid and smooth, not even a hint of old-fashioned brick work that had been present on the winding hallways we'd just left.

"What you are about to see stays down here. This is not information that we want to be known to vampires or humans, anyone really, outside these walls," I told them, hoping they understood that their undead life might depend on the next answer. "Can you promise me that?"

Eric face was vampire blank. "You are asking me to lie?"

I shook my head. "I am asking for your silence."

Was there much difference? Yes.

"If I don't promise it?" Eric asked me with a raised eyebrow. There was still a shadow of pain in his eyes, but it was obvious a part of him was enjoying me being in command.

"You'll be staying in this hallway for as long as it takes me to plan the rescue," I said, eyes never wavering from his. I didn't need to say that he would be under guard and restrained, that chances were he wouldn't see his bar ever again if the Palace felt him lie.

Hoping the importance of his answer showed on my face, he was my only link to where I could find Pam, my secret weapon against Zagan. I wasn't about to lose the upper hand.

The look of surprise on his face was comical. Almost.

"You would do that to me?" he asked incredulous.

"Yes." My face still blank, if I didn't know that this mattered so much I might have smiled, even laughed, but I knew and I didn't.

He smiled his crooked smile, but there was no humour in his eyes. "I agree not to kiss and tell, as they say."

"I have your word?" I asked, since he was being deliberately evasive.

"Yes. I will not share my newfound knowledge, though all this does make me wonder what is behind these doors," he elaborated. Eric even in this situation was pragmatic; the idea of having information that may give him an upper hand in something wouldn't be passed up. I admired that in him; it was a trait we shared.

Godric agreed as well.

I turned back to the wall. Bowing my head in respect to the palace before whispering an ancient word and letting it carry itself to wherever the palace consciousness resided. The wall ripples after a moment. When the rippling ceased there was a door in it. I stepped through it without looking back if they had followed.

8


	18. Chapter 18

"You are the ones responsible for true blood tasting so foul?" Eric hissed at me, his fangs gleaming in florescent lights. Great, now I had a pissed off vampire, who was my only ticket to finding Zagan.

"We are the ones responsible for developing artificial blood, the Fae court are the ones to mass market and produce True Blood," I explained. I wasn't about to sugar coat things for Eric. Besides, I'd never spoken the vow of silence to my Fae relatives.

We were passing the labs. The research on blood was done in a maximum security area, with as many agents as we had in the security wing; there wasn't a more secure place in Underworld apart from Tartarus.

Predictably Eric was livid over the bad bargain vampires got on Earth.

"Fucking fairies own the production line?"

"You are surprised that they would do that after what happened in the war?" Godric asked him.

I chuckled, slipping back into myself for a while. I didn't want to stay unemotional around Eric, I couldn't, really, not for long anyway. Being with him always made me feel. Good. Bad. The feelings were there, no matter how hard I tried staying indifferent, or telling myself that I will get hurt.

"Did you really think humans were that smart? We were the driving force behind most new technology on Earth. Artificial blood was created here in these labs, True Blood however was something that the 'fucking fairies' came up with after stealing one of our early formulas."

He looked disgusted. I have never tasted the artificial drinks; I hardly ever craved blood, battle lust not included. Craving the blood of your enemies was a natural instinct in any supernatural creature. It is like a sweet ache against your skin. An ache I was feeling now, coursing through me, calling sweetly to me. I have never tasted blood; Lilliane has done the drinking for me.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think father is thinking about releasing our own version topside." I told him.

"Why has he not done so already? It would be lucrative enough," Eric asked, seemingly very interested in the subject. He knew business; having tried our version at my house I was sure he would be the first to order a container or two. From the speculative gleam in his eyes I got the feeling he was trying to work out a way to buy stocks in our future company. We could potentially put the other companies out of business. The blood that was being produced now not only had more nutritional value then the swivel the Fae marketed, but it also had natural healing properties. Not as powerful as vampire blood, but that then nothing scientific could ever come close to anything made by magic.

Giving Eric a predatory smile, I said. "We're waiting for a good opportunity."

Yes, Eric understood the power games involved.

"Princess." I heard a deep voice next to me. The star tattoo on my back pulled, my Akashai were here.

I turned around to face them. My four warriors stood in front of us. Eric the fifth at my side. I felt their power rush into me as our connection reformed with close proximity, a sweet welcoming feeling. My eyes fell close for a minute to revel in it. Even without the completing the star (Eric's point was still missing from my back) it was a protective feeling, their loyalty to me was absolute. As much as I resented the fact that I was forced to enslave these warriors, right now, with the deep ache of knowing that my friend was in danger because of me I didn't care. I would take all the help I could get to bring her back. I didn't have enough friends to waste them so carelessly. Zagan knew that and used it against me.

"Thank you for coming," I said to them as I focused back on reality.

They bowed their heads to me. "We live to serve you."

The words tugged at my heart. I would accept this eventually, for now I felt the twinge of guilt inside me. Ignoring it was hard.

"Well, it would seem we have a hunt to organise." I told them.

Their excitement at my words rushed through the new bond we shared. We hadn't had time to properly bond and get to know each other, but I felt their emotions none the less. Pleasure and anticipation hit me. A hunt was sacred to us. I knew without being told that by the time we would find our enemies their need for blood would be stronger than my own.

I glanced at the vampires. Godric was observing us curiously. Eric's face was a mask. I felt our bond surprised at what I found there. He was jealous of my Akashai? Why? They were my warriors, my protectors and hopefully will be my companions. The sacred bond between us was akin to the one he had with Pam. I had offered him the same and more. The bond between us already meant that I would not be in complete control of him, not in the same way as the other four. I filed it away for later.

"Can you find my father and let him know I'm here, Samael. I need to speak to him as soon as he is free." I said.

My air daemon nodded his silver hair swishing around his face. He was tall, they all were. I felt extremely small next to the five giants standing in the hall with me. Samael was gorgeous; broad shoulders covered in an ice blue vest that complemented the dark blue jeans. He looked strong, masculine and imposing, but his best features by far were his eyes. Ever changing colours swirling constantly, they were mesmerizing.

"How nice of you to finally grace us with your presence, your Royal Highness." Nergal's voice drawled out from behind me, sarcasm dripping from every word. Guilty as charged for not coming around to check on his progress I turned around.

Sure enough, when I looked at his face I saw that his expression matched his tone. Nergal didn't get to his position by being nice, he looked positively menacing at the moment. I was in a heap of trouble for not showing up. I was also irritated.

"I was busy and if something had come up you could have as easily contacted me." I said, my temper coming out in my voice.

He raised an eyebrow at me. Why was it that males did that? It was so infuriatingly ambiguous. "Since you are here with your Akashai, I am assuming you know something that I should. Come, let's catch up."

Turning around, he walked off towards his office without waiting for an answer. Frustrating man…daemon…whatever.

I stalked off after him, feeling amusement from all four of my companions. Even Eric was enjoying the show.

We walked past through the maze of offices and board rooms to Nergal's office. It was in the centre of the wing, no windows to the outside provided absolute privacy. The office was large and circular. It had one door, through which we all filed in. There was a massive wooden desk in the middle, it was dark brown and made out of oak. On the opposite wall from the entrance was a collection of screens, it was a immense computer surveillance system, you could literally find anything from here in Underworld and Earth. To the right he had a bookshelf unit made out of the same wood as the desk. There were books stacked haphazardly on the shelves as well as a seemingly random collection of objects. I always wondered what those were, never having enough courage to ask, my curiosity was still there.

The main focus of the room was a large enhanced painting on the wall to our left. A beautiful winter landscape displayed there now. Trees sprinkled with snow everywhere and the moon making it all look ethereal and beautiful. I briefly wondered which part of the world it was but let it go, we had other things to worry about.

"So Lexie, why don't we start with some introductions." Nergal said as he sat down behind his desk, knowing full well it made me feel like a chastened school girl. Coming to a stop in front of him and putting one hand on my hip I gave him a glare. He may be my senior in years, but I was past childhood and certainly outranked him. Not that it mattered in the slightest. He was one of my mentors, I would always respect him. Right now I didn't like him very much though. He knew who they were already and just wanted me to feel uncomfortable.

"Nergal, I'd like to introduce my Akashai. Lucifer. Vepar and Azazel." I said pointing them out to him. "This is Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana. Eric, this is Nergal the head of Underworld's secret police branch as well as one of my mentors."

The men all gave him a slight nod in deference to his age and position.

Nergal gave me a satisfied smile, happy to see that despite my fiery temper I managed to hang on to some manners.

"Northman, this is an unexpected pleasure. I am glad Alessandra has managed to arrange an introduction, although I wish it was under better circumstances." Nergal said, focusing his yellow reptilian eyes on Eric, who was looking slightly weary. Like I said, Nergal made everyone cautious; he was just that mean looking.

"It is good to meet you too." Eric responded. He was clearly intrigued by the reptilian daemon in front of him.

"Hmm. Yes. As to that." He said, his attention going back to me. "Has there been anymore developments?"

"Yes." I said.

He sat up in his chair clearly interested. Indicating the two chairs in front of his desk, he waited until we sat down.

While Eric and I sat, my three remaining Akashai came to stand behind us, silent wall of protection at our back. The formality of their stance irritated me. We need to go over some basics soon. Making a silent promise to make time for them as soon as we were out of this mess, I started talking.

"Eric can feel Pam. She's in Underworld." I said. I felt Samael coming closer and wanted to see if my dad was with him before disclosing the location.

"Eric, can you feel in which direction she is?" He asked.

Just as Eric was about to answer my father strode in with Samael following closely behind.

"Lexie, you had better have a good reason of pulling me out of that meeting." Just what I needed, more pissed off people.

I scowled at Samael. Didn't I give specific instructions to let dad finish whatever he was doing?

"Forgive me father but this couldn't wait." I said, trying to sound like it was my idea all along. I couldn't let them see that while my Akashai followed orders he didn't do exactly what I asked. Samael's eyes were full of amusement sparkling like a reflection of the sun. Yes, he was going to regret this later.

A large chair appeared out of the wall under the picture, which Vepar moved over to the desk. My dad sat down in it.

"Zagan's may have escaped hell, but he didn't leave it behind." I said. Choosing to be vague as a nice little pay back, while petty it made me feel good. I noticed I had their complete attention, they were both silent. Trying to out do ancient beings through sarcasm of your own hardly ever works, they're too good at it. Millenniums of practise being sarcastic. Before either of them could reprimand me for being childish I continued.

"Earlier today my friend Pam, Eric's child, was kidnapped from our room. I won't go into too much detail, suffice to say Eric lost his connection to her. When we got here a little while ago he felt her through their bond again." I paused for effect, looking at the familiar faces in front of me savouring the moment before I told them. "She is being held in Hell."

If it wasn't for the fact that I knew my friend was suffering now because of me I would have enjoyed this moment more. Their twin expressions of shock and disbelief were truly comical under any other circumstances.

"Are you sure?" Dad said.

"Yes. I can clearly feel her in that direction." Eric said as he pointed again. "Alessandra assures me that the only place located there is Hell."

His face and voice didn't betray any emotion. Centuries of practise made him seem completely aloof and unconcerned like we were talking about something inconsequential and not the possible location of his kidnapped child, I envied his self control. I was getting better at presenting a mask to the world, but I didn't doubt that it would take me years to learn the effortless way Eric did it.

Silence filled the room for a long time. It's tension so heavy it was almost like another presence was here. Impossible, of course. This was the heaviest guarded part of the wing, the heart of our information centre. I let them process the implications of our news, my heart heavy with the thought that we had a traitor in our midst. My father's court was full of creatures. We did not turn away other unlike the Seelie. Something full of darkness wasn't inherently evil, it was just what it was, not many things were really evil in themselves. What they choose to do, their actions, yes, those could be evil. Some were vile, but they were not always so. We welcomed all the darkness in the world. Daemons kept order, of course, and most truly violent creatures preferred to live in other parts of Underworld. That our enforcers could be turned against us was giving me a stomachache, and not in a good way. Although from listening in on humans, I understood that, most stomachaches were not pleasant, the idea did not make me feel a whole lot better about my stomach.

"Lexie, you believe Zagan is behind all this?" Dad said, looking at me, pity coloured his tone and shone out of his eyes. I hater it, my anger coming up like a snake striking out of me through my words.

"Yes, father, my lovely ex-fiancé even left me an obsidian rose on my friend's bed, which incidentally he made sure she bled all over first." I snarled.

Eric looked at me in surprise. "Ex-fiancé."

I couldn't help a humourless laugh escaping my lips. "Yes, Eric. Something I didn't want to tell you. The one traitor of our time in Underworld was to be my husband. Lucky for me I manage to avoid bonding with him before I discovered he was simply using me to get the throne and power." The pain hit me again, even after all these years my heart felt heavy and breaking like it happened yesterday. After all the time I spent trying to forget and move on, I felt all the emotions rise up in me again. I was so naïve back then, in love and blindly ignoring all the signs of trouble. Zagan didn't care about me, he cared about power and position. I was a tool, the knowledge still made me hurt. I shut down all the links to the others, I didn't want to let Eric know it still hurt me, but I must have done it too late. From the look in Eric's eyes he knew. I looked away, I didn't want to see pity there, I didn't want Eric's pity. I didn't want anyone's pity, I've had enough of it over the years.

"It wasn't your fault, Lexie." Dad said gently. "You forget he deceived us all."

Taking a deep breath I nodded, aware that would be the correct response. It didn't make me feel any better and it didn't make him right. I was the one almost responsible for my father's imprisonment. I was the one that believed his lies. I was the one that…well, guilt is a heavy blanket, and I was smothered in it. Head to toe and suffocating.

Six year. It was six years ago. I had left court shortly after, I couldn't endure all the murmurs and viciousness. Dad let me go. He wasn't happy about it, but he let me go. I left my position, my life behind, but not before I locked that son of a bitch up in Hell. Now, he was out, and he was after me…again.

Life is so much fun when you're a princess, isn't it?

"Dad it doesn't matter anymore." I said and my voice sounded steady. Wow. For once I kept my feelings firmly trapped under an exterior of polite calmness. "The only thing that I want now is to get Pamela back and make sure Zagan is never going to be a problem for us again."

Yes. Hell was to nice for him. I will make sure that his existence ends. Very soon. I didn't look at Eric. I kept the bond closed off. It took all I had to remain calm and I knew deep down that one look at Eric and that calmness would be gone. Either because he was rejecting me or pitying. Would he still be interested in me after all this is over? I was the reason behind his child's suffering and still possible death. How could he still want me after this. No! I pushed the thoughts out, not the right time. I would think about it after all this is over, or ignore it completely. That would be much healthier.

_I doubt it would be healthier, Lex. _Zi said, his voice unusually solemn.

_Who died and made you a shrink? _I snarled back mentally. It wasn't fair of me but right now I needed an outlet. _I don't need you analysing my life._

He didn't answer. I might have to apologies for that later, but right now it felt good to lash out. I felt my anger come back again. Riding up and ready for battle. Embracing it, charging myself with the feeling. Anger is better.

"If Northman is sure that his child is held in Hell then we need a plan to get in without attracting too much attention. Any wrong move and Zagan will kill her." Nergal picked up the line, a familiar expression on his face. He was plotting and analysing. I have seen this expression so many times before while I studied with him. I spent decades at his side, learning what his work.

"We have more than one problem on that front." I said calmly, even if I felt anything but. "There is a traitor in our ranks, and I, for one, would very much like to find him."

We spent hours talking. Planning. At first Eric remained quiet, seeing as he knew little about our world, but as the hours moved along he offered his opinions as well. He didn't survive as a vampire for one thousand years without having experience in this type of situations. My Akashai helped as well. They were all older than Eric, generals with plenty of experience behind their backs. I was sure Dad would feel their loss in his ranks, but he would never ever admit it to me. I was the youngest in the room, not that it mattered to me, what did matter was that it was my problem and my friend's life on the line.

We were all sitting around Nergal's desk. The palace provided us with more chairs so my Akashai could sit down when we figured out it would be a very long meeting. Dad and Nergal were arguing over something or rather, I stopped paying attention. Spacing out and thinking about my part of the whole charade. It also occurred to me that I managed to get into a complicated situation without even trying, my 'normal' life was completely beyond my reach. Depressing thought, that. Eric's voice cut through my brooding thoughts like lighting.

"I feel the sun coming up, yet I'm not feeling it's pull." Eric said, surprising me. He looked confused and astonished by this fact. I had lost track of time, we were in a room without any windows.

"You won't feel the need to sleep here. You are not on earth, our sun doesn't harm vampires." My dad said to him.

Eric's face was full of wonder. I felt pleasure at seeing it there. He was so handsome when he was happy. With everything that has happened it was nice seeing him happy, if only for a moment. He looked even sexier happy than he did when he was angry. I really enjoyed watching him when he was angry, not with me, but in general. Something about all that power and energy made me burn for him. His happiness made me melt though, in a very good way. Feeling the lustful turn of my thoughts I shook my head to clear it before anyone else picked up on my little detour.

"Would you like to watch the sun rise? I want some food anyway." I asked. It would be a welcome distraction after sitting in this room for what felt like a century. It was also something I had planned on sharing with him, eventually. It would be the first time he'd see sunlight in a very long time. It wasn't the same sun, but it was pretty damn close. I wanted to be there with him, sharing the moment.

He looked back at my father and Nergal, unsure if it was a good idea to leave right now. I felt his frustration at the lack of action. Resignation. Even with the knowledge that Pam was at the moment in pain he was pragmatic enough to understand that we wouldn't get her back by charging in unprepared.

I crossed my hands on my chest, put out by the fact that he felt the need to ask for permission. I knew Eric was being respectful, he was in an unfamiliar kingdom, sitting in a meeting with the ruler, I got it. I didn't have to like it though. For some bizarre reason, the idea of Eric having to bow down to anyone made my hairs stand up.

"Go on. We need to talk more, I doubt we will be done for a while yet." Dad said, giving me a strained smile. Obviously he wasn't happy with the plans, him and Negral would happily argue for days if neither of them had any responsibilities. I've seen them argue for a week myself. Neither needed to sleep, and eating didn't seem to make them stop talking.

I tried to look put out. "Please try and iron out everything by the time we come back, Dad. I know how you two get but we really need to hurry things along."

He raised an eyebrow at me, indicating that I was overstepping my bounds. I didn't care, we didn't have much time. I felt it in my bones. The fact that I was sassing the King of Underworld, whom was one of the most powerful beings I heard of didn't faze me on bit. Stubbornness was a character trait I had inherited from the said king, which meant I could use it against him in my books.

"Guys, are you coming or staying?" I asked turning away from dad's scowl to look at my four warriors. They look hesitant for a second before declining. They were all good strategists, having headed plenty of campaigns this was something they enjoyed. Shrugging my shoulders at them, I didn't get it; I walked to the door with Eric following.

We walked back through the corridors towards the main wing of the palace. Both of us silent, but this time the silence wasn't as charged as it was before. It was a comfortable silence. I wasn't sure it was the fact that we were on our way up to the roof to see the sun or because of everything that Eric learned tonight. I really hoped it was the latter, but at the same time I wasn't sure how I felt about Eric's pity. I still didn't know how he felt about me, but I got the distinct and definite impression he wanted me badly prior to this mess. Just the thought of how much made me all warm and tingly inside. This situation might have changed his opinion. It also made me realise I had gotten attached to him in the brief time I've known him. Stupid of me, I hardly knew him.

The sky was getting progressively lighter as we hurried along to make it to the parapets on time. I burst through the door at the top of the narrow stairs running out to see we had but moments to spare.

Smiling and feeling satisfied I said. "We've just made in Eric. I can't wait for you to see this."

I turned around suddenly realising that Eric was nowhere behind me. I spotted him still on the landing in the shadows of the corridor.

"Are you coming out?" I asked still smiling.

I wasn't sure what his expression was, but it wasn't happy anymore.

"Eric, are you ok?" I kept my voice quiet so as not to startle him too much, he seemed very distracted, staring out at the newly awakening world.

He nodded, face strained as he took a tentative step forward. I realised that for him it was a battle against all his instincts to walk outside right now. One thousand years of self preservation and avoidance of light would make it close to impossible to step out into the sun, after all vampires burn from it. Eric wanted to live, more so than most, he was always so full of life. It was the one trait that I really like about him. He was a killer, show me a vampire that isn't. He was ruthless when it came to his enemies. He was generous and fair with his people. With me, he was himself, at least as much as he could be, and I valued that.

I stepped back to the steps and gently grabbed his hand. Blue eyes looked back at me, emotions swirling in them so fast it was dizzying. "I got you, I won't let go." I whispered. He searched my eyes closely, I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he must have found it because as he tightened the grip on my hand Eric stepped out into the light for the first time in one thousand years.

That was how the sun found us, holding hands on the top of the palace in Underworld. We stood there for a long time, both of us reluctant to break the magic of the moment.

Finally, I felt Eric stir beside me. "Did Godfrey meet the sun?" He said still looking out at the beautiful sight in front of him. It was a lovely view of Underworld. Phelgethon and Lethe flowed slowly in front us, sparkling in the morning sun. You could see for miles, nature here was very different to that of earth but undeniably beautiful as well as magical. Beneath us the palace stretched out, it was more like a small city really; beautiful spires gleamed in the sunlight. The light walls were glowing bright and I felt it welcoming the new day. It was magic, the palace, and alive, conscious to some extent, like any other creature loved the sun.

"Yes. He was very happy." I told him.

I looked up to see bloody tears on Eric's face and a look so vulnerable and open that my heart fluttered in my chest.

'I have often thought about it." He said in hushed whispers, I think he too was reluctant to break the magic. "What it would be like to meet the sun. What was waiting for us on the other side of life."

I was shocked. Eric thought about ending his existence. Why?

"Eric, why?"

He looked down at me, white face covered in bloody tears.

"I have lived to over a thousand years. Life can be a heavy burden sometimes."

"It can also be a great pleasure and joy."

He smiled then.

"Yes. That is why I am still here."

His arms snaked around me and he hugged me to his chest. It wasn't a sexual hug. It was a comforting one. Both of us seeking companionship in the embrace,

5

5 


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